Despite the "X-mas" tacked on to the title in the posters and advertisements, Rave Fever does not offer much Christmas spirit. Golden Harvest's last release of the millennium is a yuppie mystery that dresses up a simple narrative with a complex time-shuttling framework and Roshomon-inspired multiple points-of-view.

The result is not unlike a rave party: dark, loud, seductive, and ultimately pointless. But under Alan Mak Siu-fai's polished direction, getting there is entertaining even if the destination proves a let-down.

Screenwriters Yip Po-kei and Chan Suk-yin paint a portrait of a Lan Kwai Fong set that is probably not too far off the mark, populated by Eurasians, overseas-educated Chinese, and local thrill-seekers. The thread that ties them is a filofax belonging to the mysterious Sonia Au.

Twentysomething office worker Don (pop star Mark Lui Chung-tak, who also provided the movie's music) finds it under his bed after a drunken one-night stand. He remembers nothing of Sonia, not even her name, but a hickey from a lovebite proves he had an encounter, and the notebook provides clues to who put it there.

The most innovative aspect of Rave Fever is the manner in which the various pieces of the puzzle fit together. We relive the same rave parties more than once, seeing them through the eyes of other members in Don's expanding circle of friends.

Nicole (newcomer Jaymee Ong) is beautiful, promiscuous, rich, and English-speaking. Stephen (Terence Yin) is her handsome European-educated best pal, a babe-magnet who is strangely alone. Ashley (Yoyo Mong Ka-wai) is strictly local, but unusually aggressive in her pursuit of Stephen and uncovering the secret of Sonia. The quirkiest, and most amusing, character is Gordon (another off-beat performance by Sam Lee Chan-sum). The heart and soul of Rave Fever is the rave culture, including the drugs, the dancing and the sex (the toilet tryst between Don and Nicole is probably the boldest ever for a Christmas release).

Cinematographer Chan Chi-ying captures the strobe lights and twilight atmosphere, and the art direction by Bruce Yu Ka-on and So Kwok-ho is suitably rave-like.

The movie seems up-to-the-minute as it is shot on location at Lan Kwai Fong and the SAR's premiere gay clubs, Propaganda and Zip - though in the film they come across as unusually straight. Even more timely is the scene in which Ashley and Stephen almost get run over by a mystery person, possibly Sonia, outside the Golden Gateway Cinema, one of the theatres now showing Rave Fever.

Unspooling at a fast-paced 90 minutes, the picture loses steam as the puzzle gets solved. The denouement is none too convincing and leaves a lot of questions hanging, not that one feels motivated to seek answers.

Rave Fever will probably share a place alongside earlier Canto-movies celebrating discos a-go-go, and other youth phenomena, as capsules of a particular place and time, fun in their own way but hardly anything to rave about.

Rave Fever, Gala circuit. Reviewed by Paul Fonoroff

This review is copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Fonoroff. All rights reserved. No prt of the review may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This review appears in HKMDB by kind permission from Paul Fonoroff.