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BEIJING LOVE STORY is an enjoyable date movie until the next one comes along.
Made up of five, tangentially linked vignettes, Beijing Love Story is a likeable, if not especially original, relationships movie that\'s a first feature by actor-singer-writer-director Chen Sicheng, 36. It owed much of its success to Chen\'s popular TV drama series of the same name, even though the script and characters are completely new and only member of the TV series (Chen\'s actress wife Tong Liya) made the move over. Dedicated to falling in love in all its various forms, the movie is sustained by its large cast of all ages, wide range of moods, and Chen\'s easy, good-looking direction that\'s always at the service of the actors.
The 2012 TV drama series centred on a collection of 20-somethings, the so-called "\'80s generation"\'; the movie, however, spreads its age net much wider, from teenagers to oldies, and largely uses proven big-screen names like Wang Xuebing, Yu Nan, Elaine Jin and Hong Kong\'s Tony Leung Ka-fai and Carina Lau. That\'s a sensible decision, as the actors are often stronger than the basic material. The film is essentially a compendium of romantic tropes: love at first sight, a cheated-on housewife\'s quest for freedom, a middle-aged couple on a second honeymoon in Greece, a high-school first love, and a bitter-sweet oldies yarn.
Chen spices up the familiar material with quirky moments - Yu in a brief lesbian flirtation, Liu in a fantastical imagining, Wang stealing all his scenes as an incorrigible womaniser - as well as playing with the audience\'s expectations over characters\' identiteis and fates. The overlaps between the stories are clever; but cleverest of all is the final sequence, an elaborate three-minuite take that "unites" most of the protagonists and proves suprisingly moving.
Though its name is in the film\'s title, Beijing as a city and collection of people doesn\'t make a distinctive impression until the latter stages. The widescreen photography by Song Xiaofei (Cow, Lost in Thailand) and styling by Hong Kong veteran William Chang are both versatile,conjuring up a different look to fit the mood of each story. Even though it plumbs no great emotional depths, Beijing Love Story is an enjoyable date movie until the next one comes along.