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Xiao Yu (Faye Yu) has simply fallen in love with the mansion she and
her husband (Tu Songyan) have rented only recently, even though a) her
husband is away most of the time because of his job, and b) the place has
a violent history and is supposed to be haunted. One day, Xiao Yu finds a
monk (Duan Yi-hong) on the premises, and after being scared shitless at
first, she soon invites him for tea and lets him tell her her house's
story, the story about A Ming, who was brought up by his brother (Yao Lu),
a bandit, many years ago, A Ming, who one day just kidnapped a woman, A
Jiu (Faye Yu again) and forced her to become his wife, and only then tried
to conquer her love. It soon becomes clear that the monk is actually the
ghost of A Ming, but Xiao Yu continues to listen to his story anyways, as
if he was a man of flesh and blood ... A Ming tries and tries to conquer
A Jiu, but just seems to be getting nowhere, so much so that he decides to
leave her, move into a nearby temple (the place that is now Xiao Yu's
house) and become a monk. Against all odds though, A Jiu follows him there
and brings him food and tea every day, just like a good wife, even though
he never touches either. In fact, her behaviour irritates him so much that
he one day breaks her bowls of food in a rage - an action which changes
everything, as only now they both realize how much they are in love with
each other, and they finally become a real, loving couple. Then though A
Ming's brother comes to the temple, lethally wounded, and it becomes clear
that it was A Jiu who has betrayed him to the enemy, actually being a
member of the enemy clan - but it also becomes clear that A Ming's brother
knew that all along but still gave his blessings to A Ming's union with A
Jiu, just out of love for his brother. Seeing his brother die gets A Ming
into such a rage he wants to shoot A Jiu, but can't - but she helps him to
kill her, promising him a reunion after death. A Ming is slaughtered by A
Jiu's clan soon afterwards. Back in the now A Ming tells Xiao Fu that he
has been waiting for A Jiu - or rather her reincarnation - for 50 years
now, and that his days as ghost are just about numbered ... and Xiao
Fu finds out that she is actually A Jiu's reincarnation only after he is
gone - so it all ends in tears. On a pure story level, Eternal
Beloved isn't too bad, a bit cheesy maybe, but featuring enough twists
to keep one entertained. As a movie though, Eternal Beloved is
decidedly less than perfect, its deliberate slow pace, its very
conventional directorial effort, and the sheer predicability of the
punchline of the story (Xiao Yu being the reincarnation of A Jiu) all make
it a rather boring romantic fantasy. That's not to say the film's a total
loss, some isolated scenes are really inspired, and the few action
sequences are very well handled - but it's not too memorable a film either.
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