The third installment Love off the Cuff opens this Thursday and words cannot begin to capture the level of anticipation and excitement in my heart. I know the wifey feels the exact same way. So I am re-posting my musings on the first two films here.
Sometimes it’s weird to read what I have written years back; the glaring errors, the infantile writing, always make me smile. It is also nice to realise I have matured and how movies that didn’t work then work now. Love in a Puff is a great example. I didn’t think much of it then and thought it was uneven and over-rated, but after seeing it a couple of more times and putting some years between my ears, the story of a man-child and an older matured woman works as a mirror to an ever-changing societal landscape of Hong Kong.
Just watched this. Straits Times gave it 4 stars, hmmm I won’t give that though. Maybe 3 – 3.5. Stuff I like about it- Miriam Cheung’s and Shawn Yue’s chemistry is spot on. I was vested in the two characters’ journey of love. The movie did manage to capture the furtive nature of initial affection to a T. Another thing I enjoy about it is the dialogue. It feels real, authentic and not scripted. For instance, in an alley, a character named Enunch (I kid you not) starts sharing some observation and gossip about Shawn’s girlfriend. That scene drags on with a lot of redundant dialogue. In this particular case, dragging it makes the scene feel real and candid; one of the unique thing about it. Love also the quirkiness of the characters – I learn a new use of dry ice and a new way to smoke in a fast food restaurant (not that I smoke).
Stuff I didn’t fancy is that it borrows a scene from American Beauty and the mock interview scenes are a getup from When Harry Met Sally.
Would I recommend this movie? I am not so sure. I did had a good time (certainly the 4 girls sitting behind me). Nothing really much happens in the movie and it’s more a candid look at the first 6 days of a possible relationship. If you go in with that mindset I guess you can get much from it.
This was a short post written 2 years later after I had a chance to watch it in its original native language. In Singapore, films are re-dubbed into Mandarin and most of the time something always gets lost in the translation.
Just saw Love in a Puff in Cantonese. Just like what I wrote 2 years back, it won’t strike you as an outstanding film. But it has a funny way of lingering in your mind because of the earnest dialogue and the amazing chemistry between 春娇 and 志明. You will feel you are watching something real. Puff feels like an episode of Seinfeld… it’s about nothing at first but when you let it simmer it becomes everything.
Reel Thoughts 