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Released by: Palisades-Tartan
Released on: 7/26/2011
Director: Hua-Tao Teng
Cast: Leon Lai, Fan Bingbing, Rene Liu
Year: 2007
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The Movie:
Hua-Tao Teng's 2007 film Matrimony (or, as it appears on the title card on this release, The Matrimony) isn't the gory horror film that the cover art would like you to think it is. There are no severed hands in this movie, nothing really 'rises from the grave' so to speak, and while it does have an interesting supernatural angle to it, this is more of a romance film than a horror picture. That's not a bad thing, mind you, as it's rather well done on many levels and a fairly interesting film in its own regard, but definitely keep your expectations in check before sitting down with this one.
When the movie begins in the 1930s, a cinematographer Shen Junchu (Leon Lai) is on his way to meet his beautiful fiancé, a radio program host named Xu Manli (Fan Bing Bing) but just as she's rounding the corner on her bike to meet him she's smacked by a truck and is found dead on the street. Devastated, Junchu decides he has no choice but to move on with his life and a few years later due to some pressure from his mother, he's trapped in a loveless marriage with Sansan (Rene Liu), a sweet woman who wants nothing more than to make her husband love her as much as she loves him. The problem here is that Junchu is still very much hung up on Manli, in fact, he even has a room upstairs in their house full of her things that he keeps under lock and key and forbids anyone else from going into.
Maybe not so surprisingly, Manli's ghost is living inside the house, still madly in love with Junchu but unable to get close to him. The solution? Possess Sansan's body and use it to get reacquainted with her lover. Of course, Sansan has her own feelings about this, and she and Manli start to develop an unusual relationship while Junchu starts to wonder just how he really feels about Sansan and Manli alike as Manli's behavior becomes increasingly more obsessive.
While Matrimony may not move at a rocket's pace or contain creepy long haired ghosts or bombard you with shocks or jump scares, it does tell its story well. Thanks to some interesting character development and an intelligent script, the film manages to mix the supernatural and the romantic together well and it does so with so much style and impressive camera work that you won't mind the slow pace so much. Again, best to keep your expectations in check here as this really is more of a love story than a horror film and as such, it's never actually scary even if it is occasionally atmospheric, but that doesn't take away from its worth. On top of that the performances are strong, with Fan Bing Bing vamping it up, Leon Lai playing his conflicted character well and Rene Liu doing a fine job of earning our sympathies.
With every shot in the film framed perfectly and taking full advantage of the lush production design and color combinations that the filmmakers have come up with, the visual side of things nicely compliments the more romantic aspect of the plot, while good use of shadow and light in the darker scenes works well alongside the ghostly side of the story. In the end, it's not an unsung classic, but for those who don't mind a slow burn and can appreciate some romance and some drama worked in with their horror, Matrimony turns out to be a slick and worthwhile watch.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Palisades-Tartan presents Matrimony on Blu-ray in an AVC encoded 1.78.1 widescreen 1080p high definition transfer that isn't really all that impressive. Colors do look very good here but there's way more print damage than you'd expect to see from a movie that's only a few years old. None of it is major, mostly just minor scratches and specks, but it's a constant that you definitely will notice. Fine detail varies from scene to scene, impressive periodically, disappointing periodically, and mediocre almost constantly though it should be noted that brighter scenes show far more detail and texture than darker scenes do. This is a step up from what DVD could provide, but don't expect anything all too awesome here, you're not going to get it.
Audio is handled by way of a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix in Chinese with optional English subtitles. A Chinese language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is also included, but there is no lossless option available, sadly. The 5.1 mix sounds alright though, making good use of the surrounds primarily with the score but occasionally with some decent effects and ambient noise as well. Not a particularly amazing mix, mind you, but it sounds fine.
The extras for Matrimony are fairly slim but there is a collection of interviews here, the first of which is with director Hua-Tao Teng (1:22) who gives us some very brief thoughts on making the film. Cast members Fan Bing Bing (4:01), Leon Lai (3:08), and Rene Liu (5:12) discuss the characters they play in the film and what they liked about this project while writer Jialu Zhang (2:13) talks about the story and some of the themes that it deals with. Last but not least, executive producer Kuofu Chen (4:21) shows up and adds his two sense to the pile, discussing what he liked about the film and how he liked everyone involved in it. None of these are very deep and most of them are too short to offer up too much insight.
Also included on the disc are two trailers for the feature and trailers for a couple of other Palisades-Tartan releases, menus and chapter stops. All of the extras on the disc are presented in high definition.
The Final Word:
Far more of a romantic drama with supernatural overtones than the flat out horror movie that the misleading cover art would have you believe it is, Matrimony is a decent film that features some good performances and some excellent cinematography. Sadly, it's mired by a fairly mediocre presentation and a transfer that really should have looked better than it does here. If you dig slow, subtle supernatural movies with good character development over jump scares, you'll probably enjoy the movie, however.
Click in the images below for full size Blu-ray screen caps!
