If You are the One

Starring: Ge You, Shu Qi, Fan Wei, Alex Fong Chung-shun

Director: Feng Xiaogang

Category: IIA (Putonghua)

The man who reinvented the mainland's 'New Year comedy' has returned home after taking a 'serious' detour over the past two years.

Now that director-writer Feng Xiaogang has proved to himself and the world that he can do epic war sagas (Assembly), he's back doing what he does best: edgy comedies that reveal the quirky nature of Chinese society through the travails of a middle-aged man played by Ge You, Feng's collaborator and quirky alter ego.

If You are the One begins and ends in satirical mode, but in between it becomes an earnest look at romance. The results are both exhilarating and ponderous, but overall the film presents a look at love that's light years ahead of the competition in terms of wit, maturity and style.

The opening scene is pure Feng, harking back to his classic earlier works such as The Dream Factory (1997) and Be There or Be Square (1998). Ge is in top form as Qin Fen, inventor of a 'conflict resolution terminal' that puts a pseudo-technological spin on the 'rock-paper-scissors' game to resolve conflicts. He pitches the gadget to a pretentious investor (Fan Wei, one of the few actors who can steal Ge's spotlight) in the film's nine-minute pre-title sequence.