For Love or For Money: C-Movie review

I came across the trailer for Bi Rain's movie with the popular Chinese actress Crystal Liu Yi Fei. Honestly, I was never too fond of Liu Yi Fei. She was highly known as a "flower vase actress" who happened to be extremely beautiful. I have to admit, I can definitely see the beauty in her. Sometimes she looks like your average next door girl but when she gets into ancient Chinese clothing, she's like a goddess. Anyways, I was sort of iffy about the movie since her acting has always been bad. But upon seeing the trailer, I was quite amazed at how much she has improved (The last film/drama of hers that I've seen was Return of the Condor Heroes). I decided to give her a chance. I've never really watched Rain's works before so it was something new for me too. Don't hate me. Lol,



Short synopsis:
Liu Yi Fei plays Xing Lu who was an air hostess for an international airline, while in Vienna she is almost run over by Rain's Xu Cheng Xun, who apologize and then takes a snap shot of her with his phone. Xing Lu returns to Shanghai and finds out that her boyfriend is marrying another woman for money, or what he calls a "business partnership". Xing Lu is upset and attempts to commit suicide but is stopped by Xu Cheng Xun. 

After the suicide attempt, Xing Lu and Xu Cheng Xun start talking to each other. We learn that Xu Cheng Xun is a poor artist who's trying to make a living and pay his tuitions. Xing Lu owns a small cafe in Shanghai. Both of the live with strong and fond memories of their father. But what happens when money becomes a problem?

Review:
Anyways, I loved this film. Liu Yi Fei has really challenged herself with this character. It was refreshing to see that she could do more than just having a straight face that cries without emotions. I could really feel her pain throughout the film. Those eyes that screamed out hatred towards her ex boyfriend, her voice that shouted with anger, she just did really well. It's as if her acting has improved by 5 folds. Rain did a great job with his character too, who was extremely sweet towards Liu Yi Fei's character. Since I haven't seen any of his previous work, I can't judge too much on whether his acting improved or not. But I loved how he was able to switch from a sweet guy to a broken hearted man that turned cold. Unfortunately, they both lacked chemistry together.

The plot moved fairly slow but built up really well on the conflict. There were hints that foreshadowed what may happen in the near future or reasons for the conflict between Xing Lu and Xu Cheng Xun's relationship. I guess in a way, the conflict was your typical rich mother-poor girlfriend situation, just with a twist to it. Yet, it definitely portrayed the struggle between money (or perhaps greed) and love. When you grow up in poverty all your life and you're given a chance to get out of it, would you really sacrifice your love for money? The ending was satisfying. It was done in a way that the audience wouldn't question how realistic it is.

The cinematography was terrific. I especially loved the drowning scene that was shown at the beginning. Just something about the way the camera moved was really good. The chase scene between Xu Cheng Xun and Xing Lu brought a great amount of tension for the audience. I just loved how the camera as following Xing Lu when she ran looking for Xu Cheng Xun. It showed her love for him and the extent that she'd go to fix their relationship. I feel like the camera focus on Xu Cheng Xun driving wasn't that great except for when they finally found each other. The intimate scenes were done fairly well too, switching in and out between Xu Cheng Xun painting and his intimacy with Xing Lu brought a lot of interest. Perhaps it showed that their love is more than just what's on the outside, but also the fact that they inspire one another.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film despite the slow plot build up. Perhaps the recurring theme of love and money was what drew me into it along with how there were interesting scenes that kept me into it. I'd give this film a rating of 3/5.

Trailer: