C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri, with Anita Yuen Wing-yee, Lau Ching-wun, Carina Lau Ka-ling, Carrie Ng Ka-lai, Fung Po-po, and Chun Pui. Directed by Derek Yee Tung-shing. On Newport circuit.. Heroes Among Heroes, with Wong Gok, Donnie Yen Chi-tan, Yuen Kit-ying, Ng Mang-tat, and Chan Suk-lan. Directed by Yuen Wo-ping and Chan Chin-chung. On Regal circuit.
WITH local viewers' growing hostility towards the historic sword fighting pictures that have deluged theatres since 1992, Hong Kong's film-makers have been floundering these past few months trying to come up with a new ''trend'' that might regain the favour of audiences.
The success last month of the romantic comedy/drama A Roof With a View may see the tide turning away from the clash of swords towards the flash of emotions. C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri, a Love Story -style tragedy romance, further strengthens the tide with a flood of tears.
Director/screenwriter Derek Yee endows the somewhat stereotypical situations with a great deal of sincerity, investing the ''young girl suffering from a fatal disease'' premise with a freshness and emotional resonance largely absent in Cantonese movies. Yee is helped in no small part by an excellent sense of casting.
Anita Yuen, winner of last year's Hong Kong Film Award for Best Newcomer, comes across as a ray of sunshine in her portrayal of the doomed girl Mun, brightening up the sordid corner of Temple Street where she and her family perform Cantonese opera. Mun falls in love with her next door neighbour, Kit (Lau Ching-wun), a moody musician on the rebound after being dumped by his ambitious lady friend, Tracy (Carina Lau).
Fung Po-po gives one of the best performances of her long career as Mun's mum. It's a subtle, penetrating bit of acting that forms a striking contrast to the more showy but less convincing, albeit award-nominated-mother she portrayed in Beyond the Sunset. Chun Pui, the director's elder brother, also scores highly as Mun's musician uncle. They turn potentially hackneyed scenes into moments of touching sentiment.