Definitely my favourite Chinese film :) This film started the "mortal meets ghost" trend in the late 80s, and as we all know, originals are the best.

The plot in a nutshell-a tax collector screws up during a collection run, and with nowhere to stay, decides he'll take his chances and stay in the deserted monastary (oops, sp?) on the outskirts of town. He meets a beautiful woman and a mad Taoist swordsman. When he discovers the woman is a ghost trapped by the Tree Demon he enlists the help of the Taoist in order to save her.

There are great performances from Leslie Cheung and Wu Ma-they both seemed to be born to play their roles. Joey Wong, thankfully, doesn't really have to act, so we don't have to cringe at her rather...limited...acting range :) This film is beautifully filmed, with some etheral scenes, such as the underwater kissing scene, and the special effects compliment, rather than detract, from the storyline. The characters are well-formed and I could definitely sympathize with the lover's plight. Well-written and highly recommended.