Inner Senses (2002)

A watchable diversion here for those that enjoy the slow paced Asian spook films but have grown tired of the technological interests and or patently contrived jolts built on raw psychological grounds like Ringu or Phone. For Inner Sense the psyche takes precedence, rather than serving as mechanics bench upon which scare tactics are assembled the psyche itself is what we see put together. And the interest is in how the assembly comes to affect the assembler, the relationship of faulty mechanism and mechanic. Unfortunately this is on the whole a pretty basic film though, without too much to say it makes its mark chiefly as a slickly oiled emotional engagement, well performed with a couple of fun scares and a few interesting visuals. In his final role Leslie Cheung is likable with carefully measured darker shades, his psychologist character drawing up the roots of his co stars eerie visions and in the process unloosing troubles within. A convincing turn that one is hard pressed not to find somewhat drawn from tragic reality, it makes for a poignant swansong. Kar Yan Lam is the lady haunted, repressed, high strung and impressionable she succeeds in conveying the tight wound character. A few familiar faces like Waise Lee and Norman Chu appear for solid support, but this is for the most part a sealed off affair and sufficiently compelling in its isolation. Downcast and rain-slicked yet clear eyed cinematography from Kwok Man Keung contributes suitably glum atmosphere and grants the rather obvious (it even gets spelled out) symbolism moments of visual flair. Things all come together to make the film work, though the treatment of story and themes is generally shallow and unadventurous. I didn't expect something of the calibre of Persona (which this film in its fashion resembles), but I did hope for something with less simmer and more heat. Actually in fairness it does heat up in the finale, but in the way of maudlin melodrama that leaves an unfortunate taste. Ultimately I had a perfectly reasonable time here, and as a somewhat interesting filler piece this works well enough, but more pop was really needed. 5/10.

The film 'Inner Senses' is almost two movies. The first chapter is about a young female college student, Yan, who sees ghosts. Yan moves into a small apartment alone, and begins to have strange hallucinations, so she sees a doctor, Jim, On the behest of her cousin. Through her vulnerability she starts to fall for her doctor, who is also her professor, but they are able to keep a professional relationship, and she actually gets cured through the reconciliation between her and her estranged parents that Jim orchestrates. The next chapter soon begins though, with Jim and Yan living together, and all is well, until he begins sleepwalking, or rather renews a pattern he lived years ago. He though is in deep denial, and will not believe it is his problem, even when he watches a tape of his nightly activities.We soon find he is haunted by his own ghosts. The love he outgrew and cast aside in high school, who took her life in a terrible way, never resolved, now demands a forum in the hall of the heart. Will he survive the meeting?The film is very touching, with intermittent spooks, well placed, without being overdone, with obvious ideas taken from Hideo Nakata, an overall very enjoyable, and moving film about love, loss, self discovery, and the battle of the mind and heart to move on. Slightly sappy at times, the story and acting are good enough to overlook the flaws. Overall Score 7/10

INNER SENSES continues Hong Kong's trend of making movies where attractive young women see ghosts. Like Hollywood, Hong Kong has never met a successful film yet that it didn't want to copy...and copy...and copy...and copy some more...The gimmick for INNER SENSES is that it takes a more psychological approach to its supernatural elements. The ghosts may be real or not, it's open to debate right up to the very end. Unlike other Hong Kong films cashing in on the "I see dead people" trend, INNER SENSES does try to approach the subject from a somewhat common sensical direction, even if the ending comes across as awfully camp.Of note is that INNER SENSES is one of Leslie Cheung's last films before his untimely suicide earlier this eyar. It's a shame, because the world is going to miss his talent.6 out of 10.

There are two sides to every coin and in this movie, there are two sides to ghosts. Do they really exist or are they figments of the imagination. What happens when a psychologist, after convincing a patient that ghosts she sees are part her mental illness, begins to see ghosts himself? Now set all that in the context of Chinese folklore and views on ghosts and mental illness and you have a terrific movie!Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, in his final movie performance, plays Jim, a psychologist who tries to help Yan (Karena Lam), a disturbed young woman who see ghosts. As he gets close to helping her purge her demons, he begins to show signs of some kind of mental disturbance. That's when his demons appear.While others may call this movie a "Sixth Sense" knock-off, I found it to be full of good old-fashion movie scares. Cheung delivers a wonderfully deep and faceted performance, while Lam had me convinced she was seeing ghosts. Second or third viewings of the film wil reveal slight flaws with stunt and make-up but the performances overwhelm any little errors.Much comparison has been and will continue to be made over the events in this film and the death of Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and that would do a great injustice to this last record of his enormous talent.