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| PRINCESS D - DIRECTORS CUT. Starring - Daniel Wu - Edison Chen - Lee Sin Je - Anthony Wong. Director - Sylvia Chang / Alan Yuen. Joker is striving to complete his dream project, a virtual idol called Princess D, but he is lacking in inspiration and decides to go relax at a disco. Whilst there he meets Ling a beautiful bartender at the club. Joker immediately feels he has found the perfect model in Ling to base his character around. Ling is far from the ideal model though as she struggles to pay off her brother Sam’s debts by selling drugs at the club, her life is one of hardship and she finds it difficult to believe Joker’s story. Eventually with the help of Joker’s younger brother Kid, she agrees to help. Things start to fall into place for Ling as she embarks on this new career, ultimately falling for Joker. Unfortunately the shadow of Sam’s debts loom constantly over her. She is offered the chance to clear Sam’s debts once and for all, by smuggling dope across the border. If captured however Ling knows she will be punished by execution. Princess D is a wonderfully scripted movie that kind of caught me unawares. From the opening segments I was expecting some kind of CG driven gangster movie, but what we really have here is a story of relationships and love centred around the stunning Ling (Lee Sin Je). The main story focussing on her attempts to dig her family out of the rut they find themselves in. Her father is in jail, her mother is still in some form of comatose shock from his incarceration and her brother (Sam) is constantly causing her problems with his debts to the local triads. She finds an outlet in the form of Joker (Daniel Wu) who too has his problems, but these seem insignificant to that of Ling’s. The scripting and pacing of Princess D is just about perfect, never letting up long enough for us to get bored, but never moving too fast that we cannot keep up with what is going on. All the characters are extremely likeable and are very well played by the competent cast. Lee Sin Je is a joy to watch as the seemingly hardened Ling, and the brothers Joker and Kid played by Daniel Wu and Edison Chen respectively both play their parts well. The one character that really stood out for me was the patient and caring parent of the pair played by Anthony Wong. This is the first time I have seen him in a role other than a homicidal maniac, and I hope to see him try it again soon. Sylvia Chang and Alan Yuen have captured the mood perfectly with Princess D and have delivered an expertly shot movie interlacing live action with some of the coolest CG animation I have seen in a while. At times these CG’s are so subtle you may miss them, whilst some of these may not be essential to the plot they too also add their own little feel to the movie. The main creation of the Princess D project is however integral to the plot and when we are finally treated to the finished project we soon learn it was well worth the wait. Squaresoft the company behind the Final Fantasy series and renowned in the animation world would be proud to put their names to this. I am not sure who did the CG on this movie but they deserve every bit of credit they get. I must also give credit to Johnathan Lee who has produced a wonderfully moody score that sets the film up perfectly. I liked this movie a lot and came away feeling very satisfied. I will definitely be watching this movie again soon. 8********stars. |
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