The Lovers

A Hong Kong adaptation of China's best-known love legend. The fourth century. Chuk Ying-toi, the daughter of a wealthy family, wants an education, but girls are not admitted to school. Her family sends her to a boarding school dressed as a boy. There she meets Leung San-pak. He is poor, hard-working, and does not know his friend is a girl. The first half runs on the comedy that comes out of the misunderstanding. Then the register changes. Her family has betrothed her to someone else and life at the school ends. The second half is built on class difference, family pressure and promises given. The legend has been told in China for centuries and filmed many times. What separates this version is its emphasis on youth and its casting of very young performers. The photography and production design are what it is most praised for; the use of colour and the arrangement of space were specially worked out. Charlie Yeung plays Chuk Ying-toi and Nicky Wu plays Leung San-pak. Tsui Hark directed. A visually rich example for anyone who likes Asian cinema and classical love stories. Before you watch, know this: the legend is a tragedy from the start and the film does not change that.