The emperor (Chang Chen) and the princess (Faye Wong) are bored of palace life, they plan to sneak out of the palace themselves, but before they leave. The emperor is caught and unable to go, while the princess dresses up as a man and sneaks out successfully. One day, the princess bumps into a brother (Tony Leung) and a sister (Zhao Wei), and falls in love with the brother at first sight. However as she is dressed up as a man, both the brother and the sister treat her as a handsome young man. The brother is attracted by the princess, but fears that he will become a gay, so he tries to match-make the princess with his sister, who is also attracted by the princess. Just as things become more and more complicated, the princess is caught by the spy sent from the palace and takes her back to the palace. After the emperor finds out what has happened to the princess, he helps her to escape from the palace. Upon the meeting with the brother and the sister, the emperor falls in love with the sister at first sight, this adds to the complexity of the love triangle. Eventually, everything turns out fine, the emperor and the sister; the princess and the brother love happily ever after.
Review
Chinese Odyssey 2002 is a Wong Kar-wai production and it is quite obvious. The mannerism, the slow-paced story, the production design, the wonderful music and a great cast (Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong, Vicky Zhao Wei, Chan Chen…) prove that Wong Kar-wai is behind all this. But not only. Jeff Lau is the director here. Together, they are like enfants terribles of the HK cinema. The two filmmakers, good friend in life, make a lot of private jokes about Wong Kar-wai successes...