this movie is simply gorgeous to behold. and i'm not just speaking about its stars. actress xun zhou is ethereal, delicate and porcelain doll exquisite. and takeshi kaneshiro is amazing as always. it's absolutely criminal how beautiful and talented the man is. a long time fan of his work, he's one of the main reasons i even watch chinese cinema.
the set up to the movie is in its first minute when perhaps love opens with a narrator comparing our fleeting lives with movies, whereby we are all leading players in our own personal movies, but no more than supporting players in anybody else's. and like movies, each of us constantly edit or delete our memories.
perhaps love revolves around a romantic love triangle between an ambitious actress and the two men that are hopelessly in love with her. with kaneshiro's character lin, her lover from 10 years before, zhou's character sun na, has edited him out of her memory on her rise to stardom, even going so far to act like she's never met him before when they both end up starring in a movie together.
with her current boyfriend and director of said movie, she's already rewriting that relationship when hollywood comes knocking on her door. as well, the director doesn't have a clue about his muse's prior relationship until filming begins.
perhaps love is a musical within a movie. the break-out-in-song-and-dance routines are strictly confined to the movie that is being made between the three characters, so that it doesn't have the cheesy OA (over-acting) feel of moulin rouge, although perhaps love will invariably draw comparisons to baz lurhmann's flick.
music numbers aside, it is the flashbacks to sun's and lin's angst filled love affair that really captivates. it is a love that is so intense, passionate and bitter that it has not changed one iota a decade later.
the movie captured best actress, cinematographer, director and best original song at the golden horse awards, the chinese equivalent of the oscars.
as i'm a sucker for grand sweeping soundtracks, after watching perhaps love, i immediately went online to buy the accompanying soundtrack. i absolutely fell in love with the instrumental score because it reminded me of the music box i had when i was a little girl.
the circus-like sound of a set of pins on a revolving cylinder striking the teeth of a steel comb between the all-embracing cello, bass, harp, piano, cymbals, woodwinds and violins...absolutely beautiful.
now one of my favourites movies and soundtracks, this ravishing kaleidoscope is dazzling and haunting. it will make you swoon as it breaks your heart at the same time.
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