Curiosity Kills the Cat (2006) User Reviews

Good, but far from Great.

[Stskyshaker · 6/10 · 25 October 2006]

Haven't enjoyed a Chinese movie this much for quite a while, and I'm glad to finally see a none-martial drama bidding to represent China in the competition for Oscar best foreign film(though fail).

The director Zhang Yibai elaborates many wonderful integral twists, and Curiosity Kills has a admirable perspective looking into everyday real life of different classes of contemporary Chinese(lack some depth though). I guess these are what have this movie stand out.

And now the bad points, the acting of the leading man, which is just mechanical and emotionless, verges on destroying the whole plot while others of the cast deliver nothing more than mediocre performance. Another weakness of this movie is its senseless cinematography, very immature and unfortunately the editing make it look even worse...

In all, Curiosity Kills the Cat is an impressive good movie with some apparent shortcomings, worth a try.

How love changes our life

[hudiefanny · 7/10 · 20 November 2006]

How love changes our life The whole movie was shot at the view of MoMo, the girl in the photograph shop. But she was not the only curious one. Everyone in the movie wanted to know something they should not peep. But this is not what I'd like to talk about. I'd like to share with you my understanding of the movie from another angle.

"I just want to change a person with my love." said QianYu. It impressed me earlier than all the rest of the movie. I think it over throughout the whole movie watching and try hard to apprehend it deeply. Thus, my attention is led to how love change the lives of the people in this movie.

QianYu: Start with the protagonistress. She is the only daughter of an entrepreneur. Her husband, ZhengZhong, is an employee of his father's. She said he didn't know he married with her because he loved her as an individual or just because she's the daughter of his boss. But QianYu loves him dearly and whole-heartedly. There's no housemaid hired in their home and QianYu takes care of ZhengZhong and the whole family herself to make ZhengZhong less uncomfortable and stressed as a subordination of his father in law. She wants to change him and favor him with her devotion and greatest love. She fulfilled a series of conducts with the help of a guard, FengDou, to make sure that she would keep her husband. But what's the result? She lost him forever. It's her fierce love that sent her beloved husband, ZhengZhong, to the hell though it is not her original wish. Like the roses she described, either sheer red or pure white, the love she holds disposes her life into spotless happiness or horrible destruction.

ZhengZhong: QianYu doubted whether ZhengZhong loved her or not, while I think he did. He carefully protected her and their family. He was involved in an affair with XiaoXia LIANG but stoutly cut the relationship down right after the temporary passion for sex. The scene that he stood on his knees wiping the blood on QianYu in the greenhouse deeply impressed me. He killed XiaoXia LIANG with enormous hatred for he was convinced that XiaoXia LIANG was to blame for all those that hurt his wife and son. He was not a born killer. He never looked down upon XiaoXia and provided her with quite a large sum of money to guarantee her new life in future. He got along with XiaoXia not for love but for releasing himself from the pressure and stress, so he was unable to response to XiaoXia's love for him. If he were a playboy and possessed no true love for his wife but treated her as a shortcut in career, he would not end up in jail or even death penalty. Instead, he might have chance to enjoy a life with both a mild wife and a sexy lover.

FengDou: If without the money QianYu gave him revealed at the end of the movie, we would have thought he died of his greed. But it was revealed, what did he die for? Why did he do so many mischiefs for nothing? He contributed everything he had, conscience, purity, and his life finally. What did he expect to be returned from all these? This is a question unnecessary for me to answer.

XiaoXia LIANG: Similar to FengDou, she fell in love with a wrong person. The doomed love totally changed her life and led her to her doomed fate.

Things tend to go contrary to one's wishes. Generally speaking, love must be beautiful and fine. Only hearing the word "love" would arouse us with many happy memories or imaginations. We may say, love is powerful; love conquers everything. Love does change our lives frequently, but we should remember the changes are not always to the bright side.

Tried hard to impress, but really nothing delivered.

[xdsun2000 · 1/10 · 20 October 2006]

This movie got my attention because its producer claimed it'd compete for Oscar foreign language film along with the Banquet and Curse of the Golden Flower, another two big budget Chinese films. But this small budget movie fails to stand out both for story line and performance. Its setting is basically within an apartment building. With twisted love among an unfaithful husband, a heartbroken wife and of course, the lover, a salon owner, the story seemingly is trying to tell how the mystery can evolve into something to grab peoples' heart. Unfortunately, it rapidly runs into mediocre with basically no surprise at all. Its acting can't score anything either. Carina Lau has some shining moments, yet with an emotionless(trying to be sophisticated?)Jun Hu, there is really not much to tell. Its supporting roles are also weird and unconvincing. Well, it is an ordinary story. Maybe it happens everyday in China nowadays. If you are interested in peeking into the changing society, you might find something intriguing. Otherwise, turn on your TV.

9 1/2 Weeks + Fatal Attraction +American Beauty = Best of Carina Lau!

[wingsdesign · 10/10 · 20 January 2007]

Curiosity Kills the Cat is marketed as a sexy thriller, but it's more than that. It's a domestic drama with moral and romance elements in it. I do agreed with those reviews who claimed this film to be the Chinese version of 9 1/2 Weeks and Fatal Attraction, but it's also got a bit Annette Bening from American Beauty happening for the luminous Carina Lau's wealthy housewife role. It's also a revenge drama, and ultimately, it's a short film edited into multiple versions to become a feature length film. The audience don't really get to know the truth until more than half way into the film.

The film is shot in Chong Chin China, and it's set mostly in a upscale apartment building. The story involves a young and nosy photo shop girl named MoMo(Lin Yuen), a security guard named Fen Dou(M. Fan) who she has a crush on, a sexy hair and nail salon owner named Sharon(Shong Jia) who sleeps with a married man named John(Wu Jun), and the mysterious often housebound wife named Rose played by Carina Lau.

Momo thinks she knows all that's happened behind the murder mystery of Sharon, because she constantly snaps pictures of people in places and parking lots. Up until the moment when John had enough of Sharon's pressure and impulsively kills her by beating her with a glass ashtray, he was convinced that every bad thing that occurred to his family and wife was done by Sharon. He did believe she wanted everything from him, and money wasn't enough. Well at this point, we have seen less than half of the real story when John got arrested. Eventually, Momo uncovered more evidence about her so-called boyfriend who she suspects to be the real criminal. Then Fen Dou was threatened to uncover the truth and from that point on Carina Lau's side of the story is told.....

The cast is very good and this film has garnered the best reviews of Carina Lau's career. She recently won the best actress award of the year voted by people's choice on-line at Sina.com and previously nominated at the Golden Horse Award. This is her first Mainland Chinese movie, and most critics considered this film to be the breakthrough role of her career. She was willing to be made to look like a middle-aged housewife and she had insisted on doing multiple takes on a scene when she was splattered with paint all over her. What I really loved about her performance is that after wards I think about how manipulative her character's emotions were, and I was amazed that she was very real and fake at the same time for those terrified and breakdown scenes. As a film wardrobe person, I must say that I noticed two continuity errors on her. She put on a wrong pair of earrings that didn't matched what she worn for numerous scenes after wards, and the other is that the director/editor made a mistake of using two different takes on her panic scene at the lobby when when was covered in paint.

I personally thought Daniel Walker did a marvelous job with the original score and theme song. I rarely watch Mainland Chinese films, because I have more access to Canadian and American films, and I totally loved this film and I am so happy to see Carina Lau in it. I don't think there is another more suitable to play this role, and the love/fight scene with the security guard at the parking lot is worthy of any acting award for her!

A Deep, Dark Tale

[spoiltkitty · 8/10 · 28 December 2008]

I caught this movie on cable TV last night. At first, without any idea of the plot, it seemed to be just another love story but it later turns out to have a very nasty twist to it. There seems to be a zipping back and forth from the past and the present as the story is told from each of the characters' perspectives, which is an interesting way of putting the pieces together in this puzzle of love.

This movie has a message which also lies in the way its story is told - you just can't judge a book by its cover. At the very least, it would send shivers down the spine of anyone contemplating or engaging in extramarital affairs. This movie makes you question how well you truly know someone.

For those like me who are not particularly used to watching too many Chinese movies, it also provides a fascinating insight into the ethos of modern day China as well as a sneak into modern Chinese love relationships without the usual slapstick.

This is a deep, dark tale that will leave you glued to your chair.