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The Touch (2003)
- aka Tian Mai Chuan Qi (2002)
The Chinese cinema, especially Hong Kong, has always had a small but a sizeable following in the United States. With the tremendous success that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon garnered over two years ago, many have sought to capitalize on the recognition the film achieved among the American moviegoers. The Touch, reuniting Michelle Yeoh with the Oscar winning cinematographer Peter Pau, is just one of those numerous projects hoping to repeat the same accomplishments.
The Touch tells the story of Yin, whose father has always taught his children the destiny they are meant to fulfill. As the descendants from a long line of acrobats, her family was chosen so that they can be called upon to retrieve the Sharira, an ancient relic that is believed to be the pure essence of a holy Buddhist monk. One day, Yin is visited by Eric, an old friend who carries with him the Heart of Dun Huang, which is the artifact required to unlock the secrets of the Sharira. Together they must outsmart Eric's former employer Karl, a cruel and uncompassionate collector of rare treasures who will stop at nothing to obtain the Sharira for himself.
Michelle Yeoh plays the strong and confident Yin, a role that comes easily for someone who's used to such a part. Graceful and lovely, Yeoh gives a good performance and is always a treat to watch. Many people might not be familiar with the British actor Ben Chaplin, who starred opposite Nicole Kidman in Birthday Girl. He does an equally solid job portraying the energetic Eric, a man from Yin's past. I have to mention that my favorite scene has got to be hearing Chaplin singing several lines of an old but well-known Chinese song. I was very impressed by his excellent pronunciation of Mandarin. Yeoh and Chaplin are very likeable on screen together, the chemistry is definitely there. Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!) is cast as the main villain Karl, I'm not sure if it is intentional or not, but he tends to overact, and as a result the character feels more silly than threatening more often than not.
What I appreciated the most about The Touch is the humor, but it acts as a double-edged sword. On the one hand the cast seems to have a lot of fun with the movie, which in turn makes it enjoyable for the audience as well. The flip side is that the bad guys are way too goofy, and since this is not a comedy, we are never really convinced that the leads were in any kind of danger. The action sequences are few and far between and they are definitely well choreographed, but nothing spectacular. Actually, I would use the word mundane to describe the fights. Special effects are used sparingly in The Touch, which is a good thing because the ones in the movie are cheesy and are some of the worst CGI effects I have seen.
A flawed and poorly executed film, The Touch is entertaining but will no doubt be disappointing to those looking for an action packed feature or a character driven piece like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Originally planned for a simultaneous opening in August of 2002 for both Southeast Asia and North America, the domestic release date for The Touch was instead pushed back by Miramax Films until a year later. Although this is a Hong Kong production, it was shot entirely in English, therefore there should not be changes, if any, made to the movie when it finally reaches the theater.
- Zalasta
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