10 Jun 2008

The Missing

Director: Tsui Hark

Starring: Li Sinje, Chang Chen, Chang Cheng Yue, Isabella Leong, Guo Xiao Dong, Leung Kar Fai

Release: 2008-06-10

Definitely one of Tsui Hark's worst films ever, The Missing is a poor stab at making a supernatural romance. It stars Guo Xiao Dong (Summer Palace) and Angelica Lee (The Eye) as a happy couple who go on a diving trip off Yonaguni islands in Japan. There, he plans to propose to her underwater with a ring that's been kept hidden in the location for many years.

But when the moment comes for him to propose, Guo mysteriously vanishes. Soon after, a body of man without a head is found. A DNA investigation is unable prove if the body is indeed Guo's. Where has he disappeared to?

Although the first hour of The Missing is tolerable, the last 30 minutes is simply ridiculous. Tsui Hark seems to have made three-quarters of a supernatural movie before switching his mind altogether and turning it into a purely romantic tragedy. One can't help but feel thoroughly cheated by the film's flip-flop.
A complete waste of time.