User reviews

"It goes without saying that, the film lives and dies with Tse's central performance, which won him a coveted Best Leading Actor trophy in the Golden Horse awards (it was a big deal for pan-Chinese cinemas, until it would be not). Tse is a seasoned stage thespian but in the movie, he is denuded of any theatricality save for the theatrical parts, where he presides with confidence and panache, is his opera-singing dubbed? One cannot tell. Mr. Thirteen is a tragic figure, but Tse has the felicity to ensure that audience can see clearly how this tragedy commences, gels and worsens, the strike of every hammer blow Mr. Thirteen comes in for is attested by Tse's protean ability and at the end of the day, the tragedy is transformed into a victorious reimagining of a genius' cradle-to-grave journey in a turbulent time, and may Mr. Thirteen's loftiness still prevail."

read the full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

After watching this movie, I feel like I've experienced my whole life. Every once in a while, I watch the film again, and every time I get a new harvest.The film is not too skillful. It's driven by the plot. The story of the hero of the film is told by a storyteller. Occasionally, flashbacks are used only to help the audience remember the last episode. The rest happened in strict chronological order. We always say that life is like a play, but most people spend an ordinary life, but the main character of this film has an extraordinarily rich life. The protagonist remained stubbornly at the heart of the creator in those stormy times, which is where the protagonist touched me. My favorite part is the end of the film - the encounter of two poor writers.It's like the only spiritual consolation and hope left by the director after he devastated the audience's heart in more than two hours.

The sorrow I felt is not brought by the chief actor but come with the whole tragedy. Really, I did not feel that much grieved for him. Maybe he was painful, but also I consider him successed. He was who he was, a man of pride and brilliant, only in this way, history will remember his name. And yes, as was expected, he surely will be mad, or like they said, he shall die young. A extraordinary original script of HK movie history. I've seen much, but none is such deep work and touched my heart. Well-understanding this maybe why the director may not make great effort to any other work later. Great tragedy is never coincidence, it's what meant to be. I really love Cantonese Opera, but this time is not worthy, fading away seems alright.