Xing yuan

Based on the film, "Heaven Can Wait," it is the story of a blind patient (Richie Ren) who falls in love with his nurse (Cecilia Cheung). Just when their relationship seems to be heading in the right direction, the patient is killed in a traffic accident. Soon after, he is in heaven, and one of the gatekeepers tell him that he is the 6th billion person to die, and that every billion person gets a wish. His wish is, of course, to return to Earth to see his love for one last time.

There are restrictions, if this is to happen. He can't tell her that he is who he is. There are many instances where he tries but physically can't. And he must return within 5-10 days. I forget. His final warning is that every person who has returned to Earth has regretted it.

The fact that Onion is blind either works well or doesn't, because seeing as how beautiful Cheung is, it is really hard to suspend belief that she would have trouble doubting Onion's love.

The story is very simple, and you must suspend belief about heaven, the afterlife, and the goodness of people to believe in this movie. I personally LOVED this film. It personifies love without it being cheesy or gratuitous. However, I cannot say that this film is optimistic.

The soundtrack is amazing. It uses saxophones, windchimes, and gives off a tempetuous and bittersweet mood of love lost. Cecilia Cheung even does the title track on this film. It is a haunting and melancholy song, called "Star Wish," which is the actual translation of the movie's title. The setting is in a sprawling hospital, where the nurses live on residency. The main colour motifs are white and gray, giving a wash of purity, innocence and perhaps a sense of calm after the storm.

They could have cast a better "Onion" (Ren), because his overt happiness and just general sense of lacking acting capabilities leave something to be desired. But the person who shows the most promise and natural talent is Cecilia Chueng (Autumn), considering the fact that she was so young, and it was her second film. She brings a naturalness to the film. She is beautiful yet contemplative. She is sad yet fresh.

There really is no flaw in this movie, and if there is, other factors far outweigh the bad.

"Fly Me to Polaris" ("Xing Yuan") is one of the top three Hong Kong movies that had an impact on me and my movie viewing history. Why? Well because it is simply a very heartfelt and warm story, a romantic story that is very sad and beautiful.

The movie's two lead roles, played by Richie Ren (playing Onion/Cheuk) and Cecilia Cheung (playing Autumn Yue) have such great on-screen chemistry together that it really is a perfect match. And truth be told, then Cecilia Cheung is cut out for these particular type of roles, because she aces it here in "Fly Me to Polaris", just as she did in "Failan".

The story is quite beautiful and moving. It is about a blind and dumb man who works at a hospital, where he has fallen in love with a reclusive nurse. Tragedy strikes, leaving the man to die, but he is given five days on Earth to be reunited with his love. Unfortunately he cannot reveal his true identity. But the power of love and the powers of fate always have a way of setting things right.

If you enjoy Asian cinema, and Hong Kong cinema in particular, then you definitely have to acquaint yourself with "Fly Me to Polaris", if you haven't already done so, because this is one of the most brilliant movie moments in the non-action genre to come out of Hong Kong. And the movie is accompanied by a beautiful title track that is brilliantly sung by Cecilia Cheung.

A word of advice, if you are the sentimental type, then you might want to have a tissue or two at hand when you watch this movie.

The movie itself was quite touching, however, the plot was still vague. Onion (Richie Ren) interprets a blind man, and does a good job, as well as the nurse (Cecilia Cheung). But the movie itself lacks many effects, and shows an empty scenario. However, the main actors did quite an accomplished job. Acting as blind when you can actually see is rather a difficult task, just as Richie did. But for the love plot, let's not expect too much. In my opinion, the movie was interesting, but lacks too many points, and it's a comedy rather than a love story.

Onion (Ren) is blind, mute and has to live in hospital, but his life is good as he's in love with his beautiful nurse, Autumn (Cheung). Unfortunately he expresses his joy by dancing around like a nutter, and ends up being hit by a car and killed in a (presumably) unintentionally funny scene. His spirit flies to, er, Polaris, where he's given a chance to return to Earth for five days and see the face of his beloved for the first time. The only problem is, he'll look completely different from when he was alive and won't be able to reveal who he is.

He agrees, but once he sees Autumn again he knows he cannot leave without telling her how he feels, and knowing if she feels the same.

Explain the premise of this movie to anyone, and they might well steer clear of it. And that would be a bit of a shame as, while you could find it painfully syrupy and melodramatic, you might also find it a touching and lovely piece of cinema. I guess it depends how cynical you are.

A young Cecilia Cheung is earnest and pretty, and acts the socks off her overacting co-star. To be fair, Onion would be a difficult part for anyone to play, and it's perhaps too much for Taiwanese pop star Ren.

It's a beautiful looking film, and the score is heartfelt and enjoyable when it isn't being overly intrusive.

The Deltamac DVD provides a decent picture and clear subtitling, with only a small amount of on-the-fly grammar correction required.

This is a gorgeous love story that is full of emotional twists. It tells of Onion (Richie Ren), a blind and dumb man who is cared for by a nurse, Autumn (Cecilia Cheung). A year after they met, they begin to fall in love, but a car accident kills Onion, and their love seems all but lost. However, chance strikes and as the 60 billionth person to go to Heaven (aka Polaris), he chooses to return to see Autumn. But he only has 5 days, and she cannot know his identity.

Whilst the overall plot may seem quite simple, the film is full of cute little love stories put together, but in no way does it feel fragmented as the flow of the film works beautifully. I wouldn't say that the direction or cinematography was anything special, but that was particularly down to the strength of the script. Cecilia Cheung gives a great and natural performance, Richie Ren, however, mostly seems to overact, and the transition from a childlike blind and dumb man to a mature and philosophical person on his return to Earth seems somewhat flawed. Ok, one might argue, death changes you, your eyes have literally been opened, etc., etc., but surely a character doesn't change as dramatically as his! A mention also for William So, who really does a good performance as Dr Woo. It would have been nice to get a deeper insight in his character.

With three singers in the lead roles, it is not surprising to hear a good soundtrack accompanies the movie. Cecilia's almost haunting lead track does complement the film brilliantly.

In summary, this is a good film to watch, with some originality and an excellent performance by Cecilia Cheung - it's one to watch in the back row with a loved one!