Bakery Amour is one of those typical Hong Kong semi-sweet love stories.  In terms of creativity it offers nothing new that the romance genre hasn't served up before, but what saves the film is the top notch performance by Francis Ng.

In recent months, Francis has moved into fresh directions with the roles he has taken.  With 'bad-guy' roles dating as far back as 'The Bride With White Hair" (1993) and beyond, it is nice to see him finally receiving his due as a leading man.  His recent adoption of more quirky and less stereotypical roles, as in the films "Clean My Name Mr. Coroner", "The Lord of Amusement" and his outstanding performance in "Juliet in Love" have proven he has what it takes to stretch beyond the role of the villain.

Bakery Amour also features good performances by the rest of the cast, but Stephanie Che's role stands out the most among the supporting characters.
The story itself is well written although it follows some of the standard love triangle plot devices.  The only bad loaf here is the fact that the about midway through the story switches focus from Uncle Chat's character to that of Gala, who is indeed far less interesting.

Lacking a larger budget the cinematography is nothing special, but some of the dialogue is spoken in traditional Hakka dialect which brought forth some amusing chuckles from the audience.  The film's music is pleasant and one need not fear being barraged with with a Canto-pop ballad at every emotional moment.

Perfectly timed for a Valentine's Day release, Bakery Amour is a welcome treat for anyone seeking refuge from the recent junk food in current Hong Kong movie houses.

Overall review rating : 3.5

Review by Paul Fox

Location:  UA Shatin
Time: Saturday 17  February   2:00pm