Never Say Goodbye is possibly one of the most hypocritical films to come out of Hong Kong cinema for some time. Given the nature of events in the film, the title would have been more appropriately labeled Never Take Responsibility, for that is the one thing the characters here seem never able to do.

From the outset, the audience learns that Ko Chiu Man (Nick Wu) has been dumped by his ex-girlfriend Jenny. When he meets Jean (Athena Chu) he is finally able to forget Jenny, quoting some line about how they met on Valentine's Day and that it fell on the same day in both lunar and solar calendars. Up to this point the setting of the romantic stage works fine, but viewer be warned....it's all downhill from here. Of course in any romantic story there has to be some form of tension. Typical to the Hong Kong romance genre, this tension comes via the 'love triangle'. The third party here being Jean's best friend Joyce (Iris Chai). Joyce had fallen for Ah Man earlier when he was a senior at the university.

The performances in the movie are rather bland and the actors themselves do not seem to be well motivated. This is not surprising because none of the characters are likeable. Even Athena Chu, who is generally quite impressive in her performances, is at a loss here. The fault clearly lies in the screenplay. When the script has characters delivering dialogue about true love and loyalty in one scene, and then has them jumping into the sack or cheating on their spouse in the next, it does not beget them much sympathy for their situation. The script also adopts so many cliched plot devices to tug at the viewers heartstrings that it becomes simply nauseating.

Truly, there is little that can be said in the way of positive remarks about this film. If you do decide to take a chance and brave out this feature, you will certainly have no trouble saying goodbye at its end..



Overall review rating : 1

Review by Paul Fox

Location: Fanling Town Center Cinema

Time: Monday 12 March 2:30pm