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.

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.

Cecelia 's acting has improved a lot since her debut in "comedy Star" She really draws the attention from the audience, with the excellent sound effect and song-written for this songs. The song "Xing Yu Xin Yuen" served a great deal in creating a touching feeling. This is an incredibly good film.

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!

Call me mean for laughing at this obvious but awkward attempt to jerk tears out of the unsuspecting audience. I am not a heartless soul, but yet, this movie just tries too hard to play the melodramatic moments that I can't help to ponder that other movies of similar vein have done better jobs (e.g. Heaven Can't Wait).

The plot is simple: A blind man given a chance to return to Earth for 5 days to finish unfinished business, but there is a rule: he can't reveal who he is, and those who are close to him can't recognize him. So he returns to Earth to meet his long lost ones, only to meet competition...

You can't really call this plot original, so the movie must survive on its cast and its ability to move the hearts of the audience. As for the cast, Cecilia was quite good in her role. Unfortunately, Rickie (Onion) had just overacted his part. The transformation of him from a blind man, to a jealous boy friend, to a fulfilled philospher ready to accept his fate, only to become the lover again, all in a matter of 5 days, was just too incredulous. I guess when time is short, people do tend to achieve more.

But I can't forgive the film for its obvious attempts to jerk tears off the audience... Don't get me wrong, I would love a cry if the movie expresses genuine, deep, sad moments, but this movie just isn't. For a direct comparison, check out Heaven Can't Wait, now, that is a true classic which deserves a good cry over.

A 5/10 in my book.