Distributed by:

Warner (HK)

Runtime: 102 minutes

Language: Cantonese, Mandarin

Subtitles: English, Chinese

 

 

 

 

Turn Left, Turn Right is a new romance movie by Johnny To and Wai Ka Fai, starring Gigi Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro. It's a sweet movie, but it falls in the category of being too "corny" and "sappy" most of the time. As a man of reason, I don't really put that much faith in "fate", "destiny", or "coincidences." But I don't deny that at times, I wish that such a thing exist.

In the movie Gigi and Takeshi play two pathetic, lonesome characters: one is a professional translator while the other is a violinist. One fateful day at the park, the two met and spent a beautiful afternoon together. After a long talk, they realized that they had met once before 13 years ago, and (surprise, surprise) believed that they were destined to meet each other again. The day was cut short when they were caught in an afternoon shower and they had to part ways. The two exchanged phone numbers in the hopes to meet again, but when they got home the number was illegible from the rain (like you didn't see that coming). Thus begin the story of "Turn Left, Turn Right."

The two main characters spent the entire time trying to find one another, one soul in the city of millions. The irony is that the other person is alot closer than they think. Not only do they happen to live in the same town, but also in the same building separated only by a thin wall! The two never directly meet throughout all this time because while one of them habitually turns left, the other turns right. As I watched the movie, I spent most of the time rolling my eyes in disbelief because I know that such a thing can never happen in real life. How can people put so much faith in destiny and fate? Then I am reminded of my own experience.

I met a girl just over a year ago at a World Financial Group meeting. Her name was Jessica and she was studying to be a Graphic Designer somewhere in San Francisco. You probably hear people talk about "Love at First Sight." Well, at that very moment, I knew EXACTLY what they were talking about. She was a beautiful asian girl with shoulder-length hair in her early twenties. She wore a black sweater and slacks and had the most adorable smile on her face. She went up to me and we talked for a few minutes. I was all thrilled and excited the whole time. To think, a pretty girl like her making the first move and talking to me. Now I'm a shy guy at first, and I admit that I was hella nervous. I tried to play it cool and stuff, but that only made me even more nervous. She speaks both cantonese and mandarin fluently which is quite talented because I barely speak the former and not a word of the latter. We both had one thing in common, and that is that we both did not like the WFG meeting and we believe it to be nothing more than a "get rich" scam. Our conversation was cut short and I forgot to ask for her number. I figured that there was going to be a next time. I attended the next WFG meeting in the hopes of seeing her again, but she wasn't there. I tried again for two whole months with the same results. I decided to give up and move on with my life.

Jessica is simply a reminder of lost opportunities and what-could-have-beens. I barely even remember how she looks like right now, just that she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen at the time. Wouldn't it be great if the feeling were mutual and she had a somewhat attraction towards me? Wouldn't it also be great if we ran into one another in a park and meet each other again? Yeah right, like that's gonna happen. In a city of millions, what are the odds of us meeting again and plus, what are the odds that our feelings are mutual? These things only happen in the movies and will never happen to me. But one can hope.....

"Life is full of surprises; might two parallel lines one day meet?" is the underlying theme of the film. The movie is not as sweet, emotional, and comical as "My Sassy Girl," but it has its moments. It's very predictable and it's filled with many cliches. Still I thought that it was enjoyable. Good...but not great.

Overall Score: B-