My Left Eye Sees Ghosts
Something of a Chinese take off on ‘The 6th Sense’, this romantic comedy concerns a young widow who gains the ability to see the dead after an attempted suicide.
I really don’t know how I got myself tricked into reviewing a Cantonese chick-flick, but frankly, I’m glad I did. ‘Left Eye’ is a surprisingly entertaining little movie, and even rotten bastard like me was sucked in by its charms.
At first, a body might feel disconnected to May, the protagonist of this piece, as she seems for all the world to be a shiftless bitchy gold-digger. We soon learn however that this is just a façade to mask her grief. In fact, just about the entire cast is endearing in one way or another. Performances are strong on the whole, and the screenplay is pretty witty.
‘Eye’ is pretty successful on a comedic level as well, though I’m sure some of its humor will just seem silly and odd to westerners. (Then again, humor is very subjective, especially on a cultural level. Give it a try; this may be your cup of tea.) My only real complaint is that the comedy did seem a bit too mean in parts. (Poor Sam! )
After building a connection to the cast, the story is not afraid of being genuinely heartbreaking. While I found the conclusion moving, the whole resolution did seem to go on too long for me. (Especially when more astute viewers can guess at what’s been going on all along.) However, I really didn’t notice the film’s flaws very much. The story is engrossing both on an emotional and intellectual level. If your in the mood for something with a little more warmth, I give this one a recommendation.
7.5