Diary (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3

The film follows Winnie (Choi), a young woman who is clearly marked as being mentally disturbed from the first frame, as evidenced by her weird behaviour, fondness for making creepy and quite possibly symbolic puppets, unkempt clothes and hair, and of course, her obsessive writing in the titular book. It seems as though the poor girl has recently lost, in one way or another, her boyfriend Seth, something which has left her increasingly unable to deal with everyday life. After her friend (played by actress Isabella Leong, also in Isabella) advises moving on, she finds herself a new man in the form of Ray (Shawn Yue, recently in Dragon Tiger Gate), who just happens to be a dead ringer for Seth. Things go from bad to worse, and Winnie's mind gradually deteriorates, leading to the expected shocking revelations.

Although anyone who has seen a film of this type before will have a pretty good idea of where the plot is going simply from reading the above synopsis, Diary does manage to pull a few extra surprises out of the hat during the climax, though mercifully without completely making a nonsense of all that has gone before. The film's central mystery is effective, if manipulative, with Pang making full use of the delusion vs. reality gambit as he has done in so many of his previous works. As such, it could probably have done without the surprise ending, and would have arguably benefited from a more subtle and less hysterical resolution.

Since the film is seen from the perspective of its disturbed protagonist, it does make for disorienting viewing, with a number of sudden shifts which keep the viewer constantly off balance. This does allow for a certain air of tension, or at least of discomfort, although Pang simply lets events play out rather than attempting to tell any kind of coherent story. As a result, the film tends to meander, and whilst this may be a reasonable enough reflection of an unhinged mind, it does result in a lack of focus.

However, since this to an extent is the point, with Pang clearly aiming for unsettling effect rather than any kind of substantial character study, it almost works in the film's favour and further forces the viewer to experience events from Winnie's skewed point of view. This gives him relatively free reign to try out a number of ambitious and hallucinogenic visual techniques, some of which are startlingly impressive and creative, and help to move the film away from the usual cliched scares of the genre in a similarly imaginative way as the director's recent Re-Cycle. The film also has a very interesting look, with a drab palette of greens and greys giving an unpleasant feeling of rot and decay, along with a few sudden bursts of sickly colour. Wisely, the running time is kept short, and at under an hour and a half, Diary never outstays its welcome.

One of the most obvious questions hanging over the film is whether Choi would be able to handle such a potentially complex role, and fortunately she turns in an adequate performance, though it has to be said that this is largely due to the fact that Pang never makes much effort to explore her character, relying instead on the visual aspects of the film to do the talking. Although this perhaps robs the film of potential psychological depth, it never detracts from it as a viewing experience, and it stands as an off-kilter and stylish example of the director's work, which offers something far more interesting and entertaining than the usual long haired ghost story.

by James Mudge - BeyondHollywood.com