Winnie is a young woman who likes making puppets and to write in her diary, but she has recently lost her boyfriend Seth which she is hurting from. She can't seems to let go of the thought of Seth, but eventually her friend convinces her that it would be better for her to move on. Winnie follows her friend's advise and soon meets a new guy named Ray, who just happens to look exactly like Seth.
Lots of stunning visuals, a creepy atmosphere accompanied by a dark mood, terrific performance by the lead Charlene Choi and made by one of the Pang Bros. Doesn't sound to bad now does it? Well, it isn't either, but what starts off as good eventually leads to being a bit predictable and the feeling of being weird, just for the sake of actually being weird. Diary may not last all the way and lead to a satisfying end, and after a ride half-way through, the road may become a bit bumpy, but even though it might not do exactly what you want it to, it still has a lot to offer if you're willing to watch it with an open mind. Don't expect another Pang masterpiece because that it is really not, still though, that doesn't mean that it's a bad film.
It's pretty much impossible to talk about Diary without mentioning possible spoilers, but basically, what we get here is to follow Winnie who's a troubled young woman who seems to just recently have lost her dear boyfriend Seth. When out one day she sees him and calls for him, but when the guy turns around to answer her call, we find out that it's not Seth, just someone that looks exactly like him. They begin a new relationship, but Winnie can't seem to let the thought of Seth go and keeps mentioning him to Ray, which he obviously does not appreciate. Once in a while we get small hints that Seth might still be with her, and for a while it felt like the movie was gonna go supernatural on me, but it never really did.
 
Basically Winnie's a mess, suffering from some mental illness or whatever it might be and nothing in the movie is what it first appears to be. Now this was one of my main problems, the fact that the film was supposed to deliver all this mystery that eventually became just a bit too much, to later on towards the end try to clear everything up. It works all right for most of the film, but trying to summarize and explain everything at the end kinda made me lose interest. Not saying that the film's not interesting though, because that it really is, well, for most of the time.
It's quite hard to explain exactly what Diary is all about.. it's not really a horror film although it plays with that concept for a little while. It's more like a thriller, but I would prefer to label it a mystery drama, because that was what it truly felt like. The drama in the film is quite strong, but every now and then it tends to drag a little too much and the very running time of 85 minute could've probably been cut down to an hour, no problem. If you want eye-candy, Diary is one helluva good pick though and I'm not talking about either of the two girls in it, but instead about the very visuals the film has to offer as they're simply amazing. Unfortunately, visuals alone does not save the film.
You get a little tension, a lot of mystery and even more mood and atmosphere, but unfortunately, even if this is great stuff, it does not really deliver in the end. The performances, especially from Charlene Choi playing Winnie, are terrific and the creeps are definitely there two or three times, problem though is that it never goes anywhere with that, but instead turns into a somewhat messy thriller kind of film. Not saying that it isn't worth seeing, because I think it is, just don't expect much horror, a new The Eye or anything like that. Infact, don't expect too much and you'll probably be just fine.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Mon seung
MOVIE YEAR: 2006
DIRECTOR: Oxide Pang Chun
WRITING CREDITS: Oxide Pang Chun, Pak Sin Pang
GENRE: Thriller
CAST: Charlene Choi, Isabella Leong, Shawn Yue
COUNTRY: Hong Kong
RUNTIME: 85 min
RATING: 6/10
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Diary Trailer
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