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Handong decides to marry Jingping, a professional translator but the marriage fails and Handong goes back to Lan Yu. Their plans for a long-term commitment are thwarted, however, when Handong faces imprisonment as a result of his business' use of shady tactics to remain afloat during a period of market instability after Tiananmen Square. Handong turns to Lan Yu for financial help and both acknowledge their love for each other but the relationship that has survived for nine years is now up against the inexorability of fate. If this sounds to you like a Chinese version of Love Story, you would not be far off. Lan Yu takes us on an emotional roller coaster but does not explore much depth of feelings or insight. Though the film is honest in dealing with fear of commitment, I found the characters uninteresting and the relationship lacking authenticity. Mr. Kwan is to be commended for the courage it took to shoot this film in Beijing without official Government approval, but the film's sketchiness and predictability rob it of any enduring power.
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