My Left Eye Sees Ghosts

Rating:
Summary: Get out the Kleenex!
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: My Fav. Chinese Movie
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Following an Accident, a Widow Sees Ghosts in Her Left Eye
Review: 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.