The Matrimony (2007)

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

A woman finds the key to a room in the attic that her husband forbids her from entering. When she opens the door, she is confronted with the haunting existence of the woman her husband refuses to forget.This film keeps getting compared to Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca". I see it. I really do. But I think it is also unfair to this movie because it really stands on its own. The plot is solid. The film is visually striking (the cinematography is quite good and should be talked up). The effects are not quite as smooth as they could be, but being an Asian film with supernatural elements, it actually did not bother me too much.

MATRIMONY ('Xin zhong you gui') is a 2007 artistically satisfying film from China, a suspenseful ghost story written by Qianling Yang and Jialu Zhang and directed with distinction by Hua-Tao Teng. It is in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. The cover for this DVD does not do the film justice in that it suggests a story in the category of body dismemberment like the tiresome 'Saw' movies. This film is instead an old-fashioned ghost story more Henry James than James Wan/Leigh Whannell. It is a beautifully photographed (Ping Bin Lee), richly colorful atmospheric love story gone wrong. The film opens with a lady relating a drama in front of a microphone at a radio station (the time frame is supposedly the 1930s). The scene switches to downtown where Shen Junchu (Chinese heartthrob Leon Lai) waits one the street until he spies his beautiful girlfriend Xu Manli (the very beautiful Bingbing Fan) riding on her bicycle towards him. Obviously both are excited to see each other and Manli drives into traffic and is killed; the shocked Junchu drops the little gift he had for Manli - an engagement ring. In the next scene we find the hardened sad Junchu in his home, having been forced by his mother Rong Ma (Songzi Xu) to marry the girl Sansan (Rene Liu) to assuage his devastation over his loss of Manli: Juncho merely tolerates Sansan and forbids her to enter the attic where he has stored all of Manli's earthly belongings. In her despair Sansan finds a key to the attic, enters it and discovers the ghost of Manli. A pact is made whereby Manli will assume the body of Sansan. From this point on the story develops as a clash between Junchu gradually accepting Sansan and slowly the ghost of Manli reveals herself and now in the corporal status of Sansun she appears to Juncho - but is it too late, and how will the transfigured ghost of Manli secure her position in Junchu's life? The ending is very smart and reminds the view of the old Guy de Maupassant short stories, known for their unique surprise endings. The story is told with Gothic finesse accompanied by a delicate musical score by Sin-yun Lee and Norman Orenstein. The acting is splendid and the special effects (the smoky apparition of the ghost of Manli is beautifully managed) are first class. This is a film rich in cinematic creativity and a story that is just off-kilter enough to be a frightening ghost tale without the excesses that we have grown used to seeing in recent horror films. Highly Recommended.Grady Harp

A par better than the usual HK horror/thriller...Matrimony probably does not qualify as a horror, but that does mean it hasn't surpassed the 2007 duo in the wholly average The Haunted School and the woeful House of the Invisibles, in terms of thrills. While Matrimony stands well as a thriller, there are some moments of frights and suspenseful moment that made the movie stands up from the pack of average attempts. With a photogenic cast of Leon Lai, Rene Liu and the irresistible Fan Bing Bing, there is no question that Matrimony is great to look at and full credit to the producer and director for creating a thrilling 84 minutes for the starving audience. It's true that Matrimony probably will not be remembered once the date hits 2008, but it is easily a better than expected movie fair and certainly one that is a par better than the mentioned predecessors The movie goes like this: Leon Lai loses the love of his life in an accident and from there goes the story of a ghost who is unwilling to let go and in the process encountering the troubles and problems of Leon in accepting a new girl in his life… It is a switch and a turn of a performance from the webmaster's favourite Fan Bing Bing, who ditched her beautiful and modern girl attitude for an evil spirit role. There is no denying that Fan Bing Bing is beautiful and her big eyes and great body shape is worthy of commendation, but rarely is she given such a juicy role as this and fortunately she doesn't disappoint. In perhaps, her best ever performance, it ironically comes at her ugliness look and aided by make up and special effects, the moment when she scared the hell out of Leon's mum, is probably more frightening than 10 normal HK horror movies. Adding to the mix is yet another engaging performance from Rene Liu, but it must be noted that she does not look like a 20 something and the fact that she is 40 and Fan Bing Bing is closer to 20, it is hard to cheat the audience. Still, a fine and captivating display, despite the role seems to be something that she has done numerous times before.Moving on to the performance to the heavenly king, Leon Lai, it must be said that the two actresses overshadowed his regretful and depressed performance. While Leon have improved from his blank delivery days as seen in Infernal Affairs 3, where he tackled a difficult character with a level of distinction, the same can not be said here. Lai is unable to connect to the audience and at times he seems more distant than relating, perhaps it is due to the script, but it ends up a rather disappointing display.All in all, Matrimony is certainly a film that is beautiful to look at and the case of Fan Bing Bing and Rene Liu is definitely a pleasure to watch. Credit must be given to both the director and producer for creating an atmosphere and surrounding that settled up the movie. Instead of going down the path of cheesiness, Martimony comes off a thrilling 84 minutes and with such a short running time, the film moves along at a brisk pace. With enough thrills, mysteriousness and a spice of sexiness, Matrimony easily stands a par above the pack of 2007 HK's horror/thriller and for only 84 minutes, you can certainly do a lot worst than watching this. Finishing off, fans of Fan Bing Bing be warned, seeing this may spoil your dream tonight, but Neo still doesn't mind either way…I rate it 7.75/10www.thehkneo.com

Sansan (Rene Liu ) finds herself in an unhappy arranged marriage to melancholic film director Junchu (Leon Lai). She lives in the shadow of Junchus lover Manli (played by the ethereally beautiful Bingbing Fan) who was killed the year before. Lonely ...(read more) and despairing for the survival of her marriage, Sansan enters into a pact with Manlis ghost to win Junchus heart. There is much to like, all the performances from the small cast are spot on (Rene Liu is perfect as the shy, unhappy wife, and Bingbing Fan is a revelation). Although ostensibly a ghost story, this is suitable for those who normally steer clear of the genre, the horror element is played way down and is secondary to the wistful tale of love lost and, perhaps found again. The cinematography is superb, with Shanghai of the 50s brought to gorgeous, vibrant life. A lovely film deserving of a wider audience and, certainly not routine or clichéd.