I'm currently trying to find good Chinese films to post about here. I can't tell you how long its been since Ive seen a masterpiece come out of Hong Kong or Taiwan. At least things are steadily improving with the new releases of this year. One of those releases is known as Phantom of the Theatre.
Phantom of the Theatre was directed by Raymond Yip followed by the cast Ruby Lin, Tony Yang, Simon Yam, and Huang Lei. The film is listed as a thriller but the way it was promoted stateside would make one believe the film is a horror. I even found the dvd in the horror section at my local store. So because of this my mind had a premature image of what this film was going to be and it affected my overall thoughts but I'm going to try to change them as if I was looking at the film as a thriller.
In 1930 Shanghai China, There's a theatre that has said to be haunted. Everyone stays away from its doors but one day a director decides that he wants to use the theatre to make a movie using an up and coming raising star actress and a full crew of people. They start production and mysterious accidents start to occur. Now the director must survive the attacks by the theatre and get down to the truth behind the haunting.
Shanghai is highlighted in great detail to show how the city looked in the 1930s. Women are wearing slim fitted dress along with a hat to match. Men wear damper suits and hair slicked back to pull off a look of money and prestige. The streets are paved with stones as the wooden drawn carriage ride on them. A lot of foreign influence had swept over China at this time because of trade and imports. I didn't know what time this film was going to be set in when I first watched but I knew right away that it wasn't in modern time. They still used those camera's that needed a person to roll it in order for the camera to record. Also so who uses a theatre to make a film in this day and age anyway? The setting was kind of confusing in using the theatre to make to make a film. I'm guessing Chinese culture must have done this back then. when I think theatre, I think of a play that you go sit in the theatre to see. Not a theatre used as a set for a film that will be shown in movie theaters. Whatever floats your boat in different cultures..... I guess. Honestly, The whole city of Shanghai looks like a set to me. It looks real but it looks like a set made for a movie too. Sometimes during the film, the shot shows a view from the outside of the city of Shanghai. I don't know if it really looked like that back then but I saw the city on an island during the night. Rocks were sticking out of the water along with rocks that had broken off of the island Shanghai was located on. I also noticed to absence of daytime scenes but being indoors much of the film doesn't help either. Some of Phantom's special effects are impressive and may be one of the best qualities in the film. I was watching going "Wow, that was nicely done!".
Performances were good in a broadway or showtime kind of way. I wasn't specifically impressed with the leads acting abilities however, they didn't bring down the film either. They all just acted out the scripts they were given. Everything about their acting seemed very straight laced to me. None of the actors or actresses brought a quality to the characters outside of what the script asked for. I was more interested in the ghosts then I was them at times. Some of the older veteran actors/actresses acted really well for their scenes but they aren't necessary to the film until a certain point in the plot. The lead actress and actor had great chemistry as well but I couldn't help but feel like certain romantic scenes weren't needed. Trying to have a relationship with someone while people are dying is down right weird to me. Continuing to make a film when you see people being burned to a crisp is crazy to me.
You can see that once again a director tries to mix different genres in one film. Asia loves their love centered plot so much that they can't get away from them. Like I mentioned above, I thought this was a horror film but the more I watched, the more less scared i got and the more I realized this was a thriller. The plot does a good job developing the main characters by showing their past and relations to other characters. Social Status plays a huge role in how a person is treated by others. Women are also still seen as beings that can be bought into some alone time in the dressing room. I felt awkward because Phantom of the Theatre deals with conflicts such as cheating on your supposed loved one with a girl half the man's age. A mini drama was seriously going on with the character's feelings while a haunted theatre burns people to death. Everything is happening at the wrong time. All I will say is blood is thicker than water. End of story.
This was such a cute little film. I mean that in the best way possible. It kept me entertained for about two hours and the mystery is interesting. You might figure out whats going on before the answer is given to you but the plot twist is still fun to see. Watch without much expectations and you'll be fine. I don't see this film winning an Oscar anytime soon though. Leave the title comparison to Phantom of the Opera alone please.
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