Diary (2006)

"Diary" ("Mon Seung") initially had my hopes up for being something particularly interesting, as it is a Pang brothers movie. But I suppose I had my expectations up a little bit too high. The movie didn't deliver to the extend I had hoped.That being said, I am not saying that "Diary" is a bad or boring movie, not at all. It just wasn't what I had expected from the story summary I had read.The story is about a lonely and somewhat delusional woman named Winnie (played by Charlene Choi) who spends her time making marionette puppets and writing in her diary. She misses her boyfriend Seth a lot and keeps calling him and leaving him messages. Seth doesn't return these calls though, and she decides to meet him at his work place. There she runs into Ray, who bears a strong resemblance to Seth, and they start a relationship.Initially, then the story wasn't all that strong or powerful. There were aspects to it that seemed not really properly thought through or planned well. And as such, the movie had a tendency to become jumpy and a little bit incoherent at times.The DVD claims 'packed with mind-bending twists and turns, this riveting psychological thriller from the creators of The Eye is packed with eye-popping special effects and will keep you guessing until the final, shocking ending!'. Alright, did we watch the same movie here? Perhaps whomever wrote that had a special edition of the movie that I hadn't, because I couldn't really put that label on the movie.It was nice to see Charlene Choi in a movie such as this, and have her move away from those sugar-coated love romantic comedies that she usually works with. And she managed to step out into a darker universe with grace, because she really performed well in this movie.For an Asian horror movie, then "Diary" was a fairly mediocre result, and there are far better horror movies on the Asian movie market if you want to be properly scared. And definitely not one of the Pang brother's best movies.

This is an electrifying movie. If you have like audition, you will probably enjoy this. The whole plot is great. The murder/torture scene in this movie, to me, is scarier than audition. The woman does not only torture the man, but kills him. The woman in this film is a lot more crazy than the one in audition, making the torture/murder scene much more effective. The part where she kills the man, with the crazy look on her face, scared me a lot more than audition. The story is very well developed. There are no plot holes. This movie is a very sad one, with twists and turns. One major flaw in this movie that audition does not have is the ending of this film. The main character tries so hard to find her husband, but what happened in the end. The ending for this film,is extremely aggravating. One of the most aggravating ending any film would have. Hence, I prefer audition. This film is recommended for fans of mystery and a movie with a good storyline. However, I hated the ending. If you like a phsycological horror with a satisfying ending, go watch Koma and Audition. This movie is still great despite its flaws. 8/10(0.5 points deducted for terrible ending.)

The Pang Brothers really outdid themselves this time..what a powerful experience DIARY was. It's truly a tragic insider's look into the tormented mind and soul of a paranoid schizo woman(Isabella Leong)who sees horrors that haunt her, as well as reliving traumatic memories of a relationship that went sour, and a friendship that seems suspect. What makes DIARY so extraordinary is how the Pang Brothers ably create a disorienting nightmare we experience along with Leong. The twist at the end throws you for a loop because we come to a realization as to just how devastated Leong's state of mental well being really is. What we do know is that Leong is a good cook, writes her thoughts and actions in a diary, and crafts puppets she talks to. The characters of her life are Shawn Yue(..as both Seth, her long lost love who left her, and Ray, who looks identical to him)and Charlene Choi(..as Leong's influential pal, and the one who may've took Seth away from her). The Pang Brothers highlight examples of Leong's schizophrenia such as the moment a thundercloud moves through her window into the living room, a chair moves on it's own when Leong and Yue are eating supper, and how the whole house trembles as the floor cracks open. Reliving certain situations which truly never cease to remind her of the separation, Leong is incredible at conveying the confusion, sadness, loss, and fear confronting her conflicted and sick character. It's a kind of disturbing poetry, performance and direction deftly portraying a character in turmoil. Shades of REPULSION, as this woman often isolates herself from the world, participating in a delusion she considers real. The Pang Brothers really throw some curveballs our direction as well, as we often relive situations two, three times, in certain ways, challenging us to figure out what is real and what is a fictitious creation of a disturbed mind. You could say we are like puppets on a string, manipulated often.

Winnie Leung is a lonely woman that likes to make puppets and write her diary, and she misses her boy-friend Seth Lau, who left her after breaking up their relationship. Winnie leaves messages in his mail box and unsuccessfully tries to contact him in his job. When she meets Ray Fan, she tells him that his resemblance with Seth is amazing. Ray moves to her place and when Winnie's next door snoopy neighbors calls the police because of the smell in her apartment, a dark secret is disclosed in her diary."Diary" is a claustrophobic, almost theatrical and impressive movie directed by the stunning Oxide Pang Chun and certainly among his best works. The story is very well tied-up in spite of having many twists, with the last one showing the reality, in a magnificent screenplay written by the Pang brothers. The fantastic performance of the lead actress Charlene Choi, who builds the process of insanity of her fragile, depressive and scary character without any need of grimaces like in most American movies, gives total credibility to this sinister tale. The cinematography uses of black and white and a limited range of colors prevailing the green to give a gloomy and very sad atmosphere. I regret that only a few viewers have had the chance to see this great "little movie" since there are only 92 votes in IMDb. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): Not Available