Customer Reviews

Dream Lovers

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A hypnotic film, one of the finest romance mysteries ever filmed. Tony Au's direction is awe-inspiring. His background as an art director is readily apparent in this beautifully conceived and shot film.

Chow Yun-Fat and Brigitte Lin have their incredible talents used to the hilt in this romantic mystery about a pair of tragic lovers from 2100 years before now reincarnated in modern Hong Kong. No film has better illustrated the adage that the course of true love never runs smooth.

Erotic, lyrical, shamelessly romantic yet never sentimental. A stunning masterpiece which rivals any of the classic French films.

5 of 5 stars for cast, director, cinematographer and writer. Superb.

My primary motivation for viewing this film was to enjoy the performances of 2 incredible artists. Chow Yun Fat, known to some for his Rambo-style, shoot-em-up attitude, and Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, known for her roles in many fantasy-fu flicks.

From the opening scene, I was in awe of the cinematography. Beautiful backgrounds and settings are used throughout this whole film, and do a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere representative of the whole story.

As much as I love Lin and Chow, I must say that Cher Yeung stole the show. She does a beautiful job of really bringing out the transformation of her character through the movie.

Complaints: Chow just didn't act out the flashback scenes to his potential. I felt that he didn't play a character that was from the past during the flashbacks. Also, I felt that the suspense of the whole situation could have been delayed a tad longer, to further the connection between the characters and the audience.

Finally, the movie may not suit well with certain viewers. But if you think of the context in which this movie was made, you'll see that it does fit. There are some abstract topics that some may not comprehend or subscribe to i.e. reincarnation, but if you look past that, what you'll find is an incredible love story that is unique.

Definitely worth a view, and a purchase.

This is not your typical Chow Yun Fat shoot'em up fest. Instead, this is an incredible love story. Chow Yun Fat and Brigitte Lin are reincarnations of lovers from the Qin Dynasty. It took them over 2,000 years to be reincarnated. They find each other while visiting an exhibition featuring the famous terra-cotta army of the Qin Dynasty (coincidence? I think not). Well, they fall in love, which wreaks some havoc in Chow Yun Fat's life. But, eventually...

...I think I'll save the ending for you to see, since it's somewhat unexpected.

A beautifully shot movie. The surreal dream sequences are an excellent counterpoint to the real-life sequences. Definitely a must see and must have.

Great movie but talk about price gouging - 50 bucks for a dvd! That's totally ridiculous and without any extra features! I'm going to pass on some valuable info to my fellow Hong Kong movie buffs. Do yourselves a favor and visit www.Goodwillco.com - they are a terrific Canadian distributor of original HK version dvds. "Dream Lovers" is only about $7-$8 USD. Most of their HK titles fall within this price range. "Hero" now at theatres starring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung is also available for this price. Their service is outstanding. You can pretty much find any title at their website with original Mandarin/Chinese audio and subtitled. Don't buy any American studio dubbed or edited versions. Boycott Disney and their subsidiaries such as Miramax/Dimension films until they show respect for Asian cinema. They are buying HK catalog titles and butchering by editing and English dubbing. Disney is also purchasing HK titles to keep in storage without release. By doing so, Disney can keep the original studios from releasing these titles and have a monopoly on the catalog. Talk about DisNazi tactics! Visit the Web Alliance for the Respectful Treatment of Asian Cinema to sign the petition to Miramax. Over 13,000 signatures have been collected.

...but if you like an intelligent, artful, thoughtful, and (unthinkable if this were to be re-made by Hollywood) profoundly rewarding cinematic romance, this is the film for you. So what if the attire and sets are a bit 1980ish? Unlike forgettable Hollywood knockoffs, Tony Au's background in costume and set design-- much like Zhang Yimou at his best-- reminds the viewer throughout the film just how powerful color, sound, and imagery can be. The star-crossed lovers theme, echoed over 20 centuries, gives the film a transcendence seldom found in any "romance." Aside from a rather pathetic attempt to mimic a young Leonard Bernstein on the podium, Yun-Fat Chow gives one of the most nuanced performances of his career (and demonstrates that he doesn't have to just pull a trigger and crack wise to convey screen persona). Brigitte Lin is stunning as Yuet-Heung, Chow's centuries-lost lover reincarnated. And Cher Yeung gives what I hope was an award-winning performance at *some* film festival *somewhere* as Chow's girlfriend of 8 years who suddenly finds herself supplanted by a 20 century-long "dream" of love. Her visceral emotional pain is at the core of this film, and her final sequence is perhaps one of the most devastating portrayals captured on celluloid within this genre. "Eight years or two thousand...it's still love": that line itself captures the simplicity as well as the uncompromising profundity of the film. Well worth the price of your purchase, whatever that may be.

The legendary Chow Yuen Fatt is paired with Hong Kong's once beloved all-time actress Lin Ching Hsia.

This is a movie that tells us that love is love, regardless the time, the time span and the players involved. Love is hard, the first time and given a chance, harder the second round.

Chow plays a modern day concert conductor and Lin, the alluring artifact expert of sort. They both dreamed about each other. They eventually know they were tragic lovers from their past lives.

She, the obedient wife of a Qin dynasty architect (sentenced to death) in the previous life obeyed and died with her beloved husband.

Now they are reborned as mortals, as Chow's character from previous life wanted it to be "I prefer flesh and blood". Starting over in a modern day presents a different problem that is equally tragic: there is another player in this love affair, Chow has a lover.

The questions put forth is simple: What you did for love once, would you do it again, had you the opportunity? Time has changed us, no two people can remain the same. Love transforms us, but it is time that eventually changes us. Chow and Lin portray sensitively the couple trying to understand and become the lovers they once were.

Dream Lovers asks what we should forsake for love, or might be love, or even a dream of what love could be, versus what we should hang on to, and at what price.

This is a layered movie, with visually stunning sets, although the artwork seemed a bit conscious and contrived.

Chow is flawless and Lin engaging, relentlessly stoic and vulnerable at the same time.

Don't miss this one. It goes straight for the heart.

one of the main reasons I wanted to watch this movie was because brigitte lin and chow yun fat were in it together. something that you dont see much of. both of whom are excellent actress and actor. knowing this I expected nothing but the best. and this is what I bought.

this movie is about two lovers who lived 2000 years ago during the Qin Dynasty, and 2000 years later find each other again, being drawn to each other, by way of visions from their pasts. this is a tragic love story that justs mesmerizes you to the screen. now i am not much of a love story person, I go for the high action movies. but this one movie, dream lovers, I would recommend to anyone, especially those who like a good love story movie.

This is the most successful Chinese film. The story is about a musician sees his "own image in terra cotta" sinking in the sea. He later encounters his lover, and he sees himself in the past in QIN DYNASTY 'drinking to a lover, and seeing themselves making love and then committing suicide...." The vow is being that in the next life, they will become "lovers again". The is one of the most beautiful Chinese films, and any serious audience looking for a glimpse of Chinese tradition, this is the movie that you should watch. I have every admiration for the playwright and the director in creating this superb film. It has both the elements of "the idea of the west within the east, or vice versa.....making it superbly humane and universal!!!". (Buy this video.)

Excellent movie plot between a man and a woman who have some unfinished business from the past. They find themselves drawn to each other after not seeing one another for too many years [an understatement, to say the least!]. Nevertheless, the years between them have not been enough to break the bond that they once shared... To say any more than that is to give the rest away. Just buy the DVD [which is what I am basing my review on] or the VHS Tape and enjoy it as the story unfolds before your eyes!

This story has brought out a lot of depth in life. For example, if a couple have been in love for 2000 years, does it mean they have the right to discard the relationship they were in prior to their "meeting" in this life? Even if it is truly important to continue a 2000 years love, shouldn't the couple be more considerate to the feeling of the people surrounding them? I believed that taking it slow is the key to successfully bring the 2000 years couple back together, with minimum amount of hurt brought to the people surrounding them. This is a great story. I would have given it a 5 stars if Chow Yun Fat and Brigitte Lin can bring out the struggling and the contradiction of their wants and what is right to do. However, I didn't see too much of that in this movie. So, I decide to give it a 3 stars.