Anna Magdalena (1998)

Sadly Over-hyped

One of my all time favorites.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is the story of a piano tuner (Takeshi Kaneshiro-Chan Kar-fu) who meets Yan Muk-yan (Aaron Kwok) at a job. By sheer "luck", they meet again and Yan moves in with Chan. A beautiful young lady (Kelly Chen-Mok Man-yee) moves into the same building and both Chan and Yan fall in love with her. If this film was a comedy only about this, their misadventures trying to win Mok's heart, it would be fine because they are all appealing characters. However, this film goes far beyond that. The film is a meditation on love, being together and just a little lust. There are moments of great comic relief, as well as some tender scenes. The title of the film refers to Bach, Anna Magdalena being his wife. That means that the music in the film is wonderful, as the film pretty much is. The film has a tremendous heart, a pleasant departure from romantic comedies that struggle to make ninety minutes and add irrelevant scenes and characters. Everyone in the film is great, its a high water mark for romantic comedy. I highly recommend this film if you like romantic comedy, its definitely worthy of your time.

Anna Magdalena is certainly a very interesting film. It is interesting in that this film's plot does progress linearly, bilaterally or whatever. In fact, it is hard to categorise this style of storytelling. Besides being a comedy and a drama, I think this film can also be categorised as a fantasy. To some people, a plot is considered to be an essential ingredient in a film. A certain setting must lead to a certain event, and then that event must be developed further into a plot. However, this movie has proven to the audience that a motion picture need not be bounded by the rules of literature or the theater. In portraying a romantic story, most artistic screenwriters will use a narration, but a creative screenwriter like Ivy Ho chose a much more fantastic style. In the middle of the film, the Anna Magdalena that is chapterised in a style that resembles a classical music piece, spins off to the inner fantasy of Chan Ka Fu(Takeshi), who has written it down and sent it to a publisher. As Chan's flight of imagination is being played out, the subtle love of the assistant editor(Yuen) and the editor(Cheng) are also being portrayed. Granted, The love triangles of Chan, Mok(Kelly Chan), and You(Aaron Kwok), and the As. editor, the editor and his wife are seemingly irrelevant, but the screenwriter has already made it clear that this film is not about the telling of a single story, but a more general, more common yawn for true love among Hongkongers. For those who are tired of set ways, who want a little spice in the dough, who are open-minded to different things, this movie is a must-see.

I dont know why everyone just has bad reviews about this film. I personally really enjoyed this movie and have watched it countless times.The film was very well plotted. Both Actors/Actresses and behind the scene producers need to be praised for what a meaningful story they put together.The ending of the film was one of the most touching scenes I had ever scene when the second musical box opened.People should try to appreciate the film. Try to understand the meaning behind it and then maybe will enjoy the film as much as i do!

This film is unbelievable. I mean, it's unbelievable that this film even left the drawing board. It's unbelievable that three talented actors could even choose to do a film of this quality. Correction. It's not the quality, it's the lack thereof I should be noting.Anna Magdalena is a 'romantic tale' (it says on the back), in which a piano tuner (Takeshi Kaneshiro) bumps into a serial womaniser (Aaron Kwok) who is a no-hoper in his aspirations to become a novelist. The 'piano tuner' decides to offer the 'novelist' a hand by putting him up for a few days. Meanwhile a new resident (Kelly Chen) moves into their apartment block, with piano and all, only that she shows little talent. A 'love triangle' forms.Well, maybe even the clichéd love triangle cannot be an attribute here, as I've seen more chemistry in a bottle of air. The three characters seem as loveless as a defaced stone wall, and the film rarely ever delves further than skin deep. The storyline is virtually nonexistent, and where there is one, there is too much irrelevance to keep the flow running. In particular, the film tries the old tactic of showing the unique quirks of the characters, but in no way do they fit in with the story, nor add anything to what we want to discover.There is nothing in this film that salvages it from me wanting to call it rubbish. It is simply pitiful. I am a big fan of Kaneshiro and Chen, and I did like to a certain extent their outing in Lavender, but Anna Magdalena would be a film I wouldn't want to remember them for. One to leave on the shop shelf.