Imagine you’re in a cold silent room with 2 young women staring at you. Besides the occasional glance and speech murmurs between them, nothing else is happening. The 2 of them are so alike and so different at the same time. They’re right in front of you, yet so far away. You can’t help but feel drawn to the 2 characters, almost as if they’re a reflection of some part of your life; of reality. These 2 young women are Anna and Anna.

The movie is reminiscent of Hollywood’s The Parent Trap, starring Lindsay Lohan in her first hit movie back in 1998. They both share the same plot device of character switching. However, the Asian based production Anna & Anna is definitely worlds apart from the sweet innocent movie starring Lohan. First off, it’s infinitely darker, colder and downright depressing right from the start. No traces of any feel good comedy here.

Some say you can tell a lot about a movie or book by its opening scene. Well, if that were true, Anna & Anna is definitely not an easy spoon to swallow because the very first thing audience witness is an 8-year-old girl almost drowning to death. The girl is revealed to be Anna (Karena Lam), the protagonist of the show. Fast-forward 20 years later, and the same girl is living in Singapore as a successful career woman with a rock musician boyfriend named Billy (Tender Huang).

Anna’s demeanour as a career woman invokes a dozen emotions. The most noteworthy of which are dissatisfaction, cynicism and an air of despair. Anna, though beautiful, comes forth as someone distant, having it all on the outside but being oh so empty on the inside.

For work, she’s relocated to Shanghai and it’s here we see the frailness of her relationship with Billy. They’re worlds apart and it’s painfully obvious that long-term commitment isn’t on the cards, going by their interaction with each other. For example, she shows no regret when she leaves for Shanghai and treats Billy coldly by refusing his offer to go with her.

In Shanghai, she meets Si Yu, a woman who looks exactly like her. Si Yu is married to a professional pianist, Ou Yang (Lu Yi), who suffers from depression and who turns out to be Anna’s ex-boyfriend from a decade ago. Upon seeing his picture, Anna suddenly yearns to be with him again and suggests to Si Yu that they exchange identities for 3 days.

Si Yu is in many ways similar to Anna. Like Anna, she is unhappy with her life. Both of them are desperately looking for happiness and they constantly see the greener grass on the other side. Thus, Si Yu agrees to switching places. During the switch, Anna longs more and more to remain with Ou Yang permanently while Si Yu thoroughly enjoys Anna’s ample bank account and flies to Singapore to visit Billy. It is through these events that audiences come to see if both characters’ desires actually bring them happiness or help them truly appreciate what they had before.

Anna & Anna is a difficult show to watch. It’s a simple movie but with deep, complicated and overtly emotional messages. The film also portrays life as a huge disappointment and our own lack of control over it. Death, depression and dissatisfaction are common themes within the piece. Such themes aren’t exactly for you if you’re prone to being depressed.

Anna & Anna stands unique in the string of silent scenes embedded in the film. The characters interact with few words and many long pauses of silence. In fact, the whole piece seems to have been shot in a library and is effective in creating an atmosphere that brings out the many emotional frailties of the characters. However, it became a drag and audiences might feel restless after awhile.

One truly commendable element in the film is Karena’s performance. Dual roles in the same film can be a huge challenge, especially when both characters are vastly different. After all, when you’re in the mindset of 1 character, constantly switching over to a polar opposite can be emotionally, physically and psychologically exhausting. But Karena pulls it off fabulously, so much that you can actually spot the stark differences between Anna and Si Yu despite their uncanny resemblance.

Anna & Anna may not appeal to the masses because of its overall morbid feel. If you’ve just won the lottery and are feeling on top of the world, then this may not be the best choice if you’re looking for something to watch. It’ll bring you down. However, you’re the artsy type looking to fulfil your daily quota of tears, then catch this. It’ll be for you.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: November 4

Running Time: 95 mins

Language: Mandarin with English subtitles

Cast: Karena Lam, Lu Yu, Tender Huang

Director: Aubrey Lam