Reviewed by: grimes Date: 04/08/2000 This film features Josephine Siao as an opera diva who specializes in playing male roles in Cantonese opera. She has recently decided, with her husband, to retire and relocate to Australia, along with their daughter. The story of the film is about her dealing with her opera company, as well as her family, in light of this news. The best part of this film is Josephine Siao, particularly in the many humorous moments. She has excellent comic timing and is quite the scene-stealer. The film strays a bit with some of the dramatic material. Some of it works quite well, such as when she and her husband are dealing with the idea of emigrating, as well as dealing with their daughter's apparent lesbianism. The issue of homosexuality is handled quite well in this film, a rarity for the Hong Kong film industry (though that may be changing). However, the plot thread dealing with Josephine Siao's past veers too far into melodrama. In addition, Anita Yuen is underused in the film. I would have liked to see much more of her. Her character is almost there just to make for a bizarre twist of fate (can you hear the string section?) and nothing else. Anita Yuen is too good to be given such a paltry role. Another problem is the issue of child abuse brought up by the film. Though it is brought up in a serious and intelligent way, it is later dismissed through a supposedly humorous comment, which struck me as too callous. Nonetheless, this film is well worth seeing, mainly because Josephine Siao shines so well. We also get to see a bit of her physical prowess (remember Fong Sai Yuk?) in the opera scenes. I wonder if she did her own singing as well.

Reviewed by: jfierro Date: 12/21/1999 Muddled attempt to please everyone by being both intellectual and melodramatic, dramatic and humorous. However, terrible editing, huge plot holes, and a total lack of focus make it hard to comprehend what the movie is even about. Characters are introduced for no reason, issues are raised which are never again addressed, and questions are left unanswered. If not for a another solid performance by Josephine Siao, the movie would be wholly unsatisfying. I just wish Josephine would stop wasting her tremendous talents on movies like this and SUMMER SNOW, which seem geared only to manipulate the audience and get Josephine more acting awards.

Reviewed by: hktopten Date: 12/21/1999 Entertaining and beautiful art film about a top Cantonese Operastar whose past and present begin to collide. The proper balance of each side in the film is rare in this year's crop. The film has a decent story and overall it is held together by great performances from the legendary actresses. Sure, the appearances of Lee Si Kei and Tam Sin Hung make the film look like TVB's A Kindred Spirit (Jun Oi), but the film has a full tank of gas until the cop-out ending. All and all, it is at least worth a look to watch Josephine Siao's performance. BTW, Anita Yuen was in this movie? And where is that kiss scene that was the reason Nadia Chan Chun Ling declined the role on? What the hey...

Reviewed by: shelly Date: 12/09/1999 This Josephine Siao showcase should have been a much better movie. The dialogue writing is sharp, funny, and outrageous. But the story-telling is flawed: cliched, rushed, and full of an embarrassing number of loose ends and non-sequiturs. Perhaps Raymond To's play told a coherent, interesting story. But in cutting the script down to a 90 minute movie, too much was left out. While it's always nice to see Anita Yuen in a new movie, her character here seems arbitrarily thrown in and poorly integrated into the story. The cinematography is inventive. But in a movie about music, such a treacly film score (by the usually reliable Otomo Yoshihide) doesn't cut it. On the positive side, Josephine Siao has brilliant material to play with. Her furiously fast, unselfconscious, deadpan comic delivery is a hilarious to watch. She is also brilliant in the Cantonese opera scenes: she sings (I don't think she's dubbed here) and is a pretty limber dancer, too. Josephine Siao the comedienne can pull all this off, seemingly effortlessly. But the filmmakers' touch here is too heavy and to keep up with her. Still, Hu Du Men is a must see, if only for Siao's dazzling performance. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL The film's title, a translation informs us, refers to the area of the Peking Opera stage where actors step into character just before their entrance. Fittingly, the film's about the on and off-stage life of Lik Sum (Josephine Siao), an aging actress who's taken on male roles with great success; the stress of finding out that her daughter may be a lesbian, and the sudden pregnancy of one of the actresses hardly affects her. But she is forced to take on a talented young protege from Singapore, Luk Shing (Anita Yuen), who finds herself in starring roles more quickly than she'd expected. Hardly as assertive as Lik Sum, the recruit suffers abuse at the hands of her father, who forbids her ongoing romance with a young med student. The time-killer subplot (Sum's daughter refusing to move to Australia for college) is the source of most of the plot complications, and the one obstacle from this being a great film. It has to be credited with trying to stay away from sentimentality, and Siao keeps the mood a satisfying blend of drama and humor; she's one of HK's most appealing mature actresses, and I can't recall her in a better role. Hopefully, the movie's success on the art-film circuit will keep vehicles like this coming out on a more regular basis. (3.5/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 8