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My Left Eye Sees Ghosts

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My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (Johnny To and Ka-Fai Wai, 2002)

Forget what Amazon, IMDB, even the actors in the DVD extras tell you; My Left Eye Sees Ghosts is not a horror film any more than Saturday the 14th or The Frighteners is a horror film; it uses some of the genre's trappings, true, but this wonderful little gem is nothing more than a romantic comedy, a chick flick with ghosts, or an episode of Coupling directed by Dario Argento.

May (Sammi Cheng of The Monkey King) met and fell in love with a rich guy while they were both on a cruise. They got married within a week, and soon after, he drowned in diving accident while still on the cruise. (You can tell it's not an American film, no one suspects May of killing her new husband.) She returns to Japan, where her mother-in-law wants to make her into a productive member of society, her husband's ex-girlfriend can't stand to be in the same room with her, and her new sister-in-law wants to help, but is your basic airhead. And they all work for the same company as executives. Like I said, an episode of Coupling (except that Steve is dead).

May, who's basically a wastrel, isn't getting anywhere fast, and ends up behind the wheel of her husband's favorite classic car, drink in one hand, smoke in the other, nose of car to wall. She dies, and her ghost floats around the accident, asking people if she's dead; no one can hear her except another ghost, whom we later find out is Ken the Class Clown (the incomparable Ching Wan Lau, known to Americans thanks to a few roles in Jet Li films), who tells her it's not her time yet, and she needs to get back into her body. Once she does, however, she finds out she has a certain nasty affliction (mentioned in the movie's title). Soon, the world's ghosts are all after her to do things for them, when all she wants is to find her husband's spirit and tell him how much she misses him.

Seeing a non-American chick flick is a revelation of sorts, and one wishes the American directors of movies like this would all be sat down in a theater to watch My Left Eye Sees Ghosts. None of the manipulation; it's all storyline, character chemistry, and pacing. And because of that, My Left Eye Sees Ghosts rises head and shoulders above almost anything the American romantic-comedy world has turned out in decades (Return to Me is the only film even approaching the subtlety and brilliance here).

Absolutely wonderful. A must-see. **** ½

The 2002 Chinese film "My Left Eye Sees Ghosts" (called "Ngo Joh Aan Gin Diy Gwai" in Cantonese) is an engaging and endearing film about a woman, May Ho (Sammi Cheng) that is widowed immediately after her marriage when her husband drowns while scuba diving. In fact, she only knew her deceased husband, Daniel, for seven days before they were married. Having spent so little time with Daniel, Daniel's surviving blood relatives question May's reasons for marrying him as Daniel was very wealthy and May inherited everything: his home with a spectacular seaside view, his expensive Mercedes and his money. Spending much of her time trying to deal with her grief, May turns to drinking. One night, with a whiskey bottle in hand, May crashes Daniel's prized Mercedes. May is flung from the crashed car and is taken to the hospital. Most of the impact damage is on her left side, particularly her left eye. It is in the hospital that May sees a strange individual, Ken Wong (Ching Wan Lau), who is ghost; but she can only see him with her left eye. Further, Ken is not the only ghost that she can see. After sufficiently recovering from the accident, May returns to her home only to find that Ken (the ghost) has come with her. With a new car, she tries to escape the frightening apparition of Ken, but eventually stops the car and runs briefly on foot. There, she finds a cute puppy that is dying because it had been hit by another car earlier. Ken tells May to take the puppy to a veterinarian to save his life, which she does. She keeps the puppy and an interesting relationship develops between her and Ken. Still mourning Daniel's death, May wishes that she could see him as a ghost with her left eye. Unbeknownst to her, she is in for a big surprise; but you'll just have to watch the film to find out what it is!

The film was directed by Johnny To and Ka-Fai Wai. Ka-Fai Wai also co-wrote the story. Though little known in the U.S., "My Left Eye Sees Ghosts" is a wonderful comedic and emotional film. Other memorable characters include Susan (San-san Lee), Tina (Cherrie Ying), their aunt, the fat ghost, May's father, the priestess and the other ghosts that May communicates with. With a myriad of wonderful scenes, good cinematography, great dialog (I prefer English subtitles instead of dubbing) and an engaging story, I rate "My Left Eye Sees Ghosts" with 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to everyone.

My left Eye sees ghosts is the story of May, an irresponsible widow who, after her husband drowns in a scuba accident becomes inconsolable and suicidal. After an accident where she injures her eye, she gains the ability to see dead people. She develops a relationship with Ken, a ghostly acquaintance from her gradeschool days.

Ken teaches her to love again, in a very quirky, humorous manner. This is a romantic film in the tradition of ghost.

What can I say? I liked it. Although I admit at first I didn't like the character of May, I grew to enjoy her quirky eccentricities. The actor who played Ken was believable and romantic. Some scenes were low budget (like the scenes where she is holding the injured puppy on the highway and it is very clearly a toy), or the scenes where Ken is acting 'ghostly,' (the cgi looked cheesy), overall, this is a cute HK flick with a fun and satisfying ending. Nice Work

When we meet May (played by Sammi Cheng), she has had the rare experience of meeting, marrying and losing her husband Daniel all within seven days. She inherits his fortune, his luxury house and his vintage car. Daniel's family thinks that she's an airhead and a gold digger but May doesn't do a thing to change their opinions about her. Her mother-in-law doesn't like her much but tolerates her while Daniel's ex-girlfriend and business partner, Susan, hates her openly. The only one who shows some sympathy for May is her sister-in-law, Tina. Three years after losing her husband, May has drifted through life with no purpose or goals. One night, after having one too many drinks, she falls asleep at the wheel and crashes her husband's car. Her disembodied soul encounters a ghost who forces her to return to May's body before it's too late, thus saving her from death. When she wakes up in the hospital, she realizes that her left eye, the one that sustained injury during the accident, is capable of seeing ghosts. From here on, the movie follows the evolving relationship between May and Ken (played by Lau Ching Wan), the ghost who helped her during the accident. He reveals that he was a classmate of hers in elementary school and that he drowned when he was 13. Curiously though, he has the shape of an adult man and when you get to the end of the movie, you'll know why.
As their friendship grows stronger, May starts taking interest in life again. She adopts the stray puppies that Ken brings home, grows plants, finds somebody to restore her husband's rare vintage car and to everybody's surprise, she wants to start doing some real work at the family company. Whereas she was indifferent to the people around her, now, she reaches out and helps not only those in this world but the ones in the other world too. Her only regret is that though she has seen many ghosts, she has not seen her husband, the one she longs for the most, but has she? Sometimes we are blind to what is near us.
Even though I feel that Sammi Cheng is overacting a bit even for a comedy, she is still very effective at making her character transform from the selfish, not-too-bright chick everybody thinks she is at the beginning of the movie to a genuinely grief stricken woman. Lau Ching Wan also does well at conveying the rascal, reckless, 13-year-old Ken. His character says a lot of nonsense, but that's because he has to convince May that he...oh, well, you'll understand when you see the movie.
And don't let the "horror" labeling put you off. If you set the horror elements of this movie aside, what's left at the core is a touching story of two people who must learn to let go in spite of the fact that they love each other very much.

I found this little gem by accident. It's a charming little movie with a since of humor - watch it, it's good! I really don't like giving reviews, but I saw this movie only had 3 reviewers and it wasn't enough.. so I'm adding another 5 star to the results...

Sammi is my all-time favorite Chinese actress and singer. She is captivating in any performance, but "My Left Eye Sees Ghosts" is just extraordinary. This was the first Chinese movie I'd ever seen, just one year ago, but I'll never forget my first. I can honestly recommend this film to anyone who wants a good laugh, and perhaps a good cry.

I would have to say this in the same category as Heaven Can Wait. It's funny, charming, and warm. If you like Heaven Can Wait then you'll like this.

First off I'd like to say I absolutely loved this film!!! I'm a big fan of supernatural themed comedies and this one has earned a warm place in my heart & collection. I bought this flick purely on a whim and am very happy with what I got.
I would definately categorize it as a romantic comedy. Now, normally so-called "romantic comedies" make me want to wretch. The American ones have become sooooo formulaic--same sappiness, plot, etc. Too many of the same actors are used over and over as well. This Chinese film renewed my heart for the genre. Honestly, the comedy and supernatural aspect are what I purchased it for. But, I was really surprised how much the "sweet" side of the film touched me. I confess the last part of the film had me tearing up. It plucked the heartstrings.
I'd never heard of the beautiful actress/singer Sammi Cheng before. I was very impressed by her performance in this. First you want to smack her character for her seemingly obnoxious, uncaring personality. Then you start to get to know her and you fall in love with her as the story progresses--as intended. Ching Wan Lau's performance is also teriffic. I've never seen him so funny and animated in anything before. I'm used to him being so intense and serious. (BTW...He was very creepy in another supernatural film--Victim--where he played a man posessed by a ghost--highly recommended as well. A VERY different movie & NOT a love story.) All the other actors pulled their weight too--no complaints here.
Oh, The story? The premise is very similar to the Chinese horror film "The Eye" as you may have already guessed from the title. But, it's not a spoof of that. For extensive details see the description and read the other reviews--my fingers are toooo tired to 'splain.
Final notes: The quality of the DVD release under "Tai Seng" was very good. The picture and sound was sharp and clear. All the subtitles played well---only a couple of hinkey translations which is normal. Over all, A great package and great movie. More than worth taking a chance on.

One of the funniest movies that I have EVER sesen. I just love it. haha.

I had never even heard of this film before it was recommended to me, so I watched it purely on the recommendation. What a great surprise! I had thought it was a horror flic, but as everyone else has pointed out, it's much, much more than that. The scenery is spectacular, the clothes are to die for, the story is touching and comical at the same time. I laughed; I cried; I want my own copy.