Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Cute Girl Blu-ray Movie Review

A charmer with romance and whimsy from director Hou Hsiao-hsien

The charming debut feature-film from the great Hou Hsiao-hsien (The Assassin), Cute Girl is a light and breezy romantic-comedy that is a must-see for fans of classic Asian cinema. The film features performances by music idols Fong Fei-fei and Kenny Bee. A surprising under-the-radar gem that should be considered essential viewing, Cute Girl is more than just a simple pleasure.

A beautiful young woman (performed by musician Fong Fei-fei) is on her way to becoming a bride. Entering an arranged marriage that she was not particularly fond of herself, the young “cute girl” is nonetheless taken on an unusual quest towards martyrdom. The young woman learns the lesson of “becoming a loving wife.”

Yet things change (significantly and for the better) when a handsome young man (performed by pop superstar Kenny Bee) unexpectedly enters into her life during transition. A poor but remarkably intelligent man with dreams of becoming a civil engineer, the shy young man befriends the cute girl. The rest is history. A romance unfolds and the story is filled to the brim with charm.

Cute Tree.

Cute Girl is attractive in more ways than one: the cinematography by Kun-Hou Chen (All the Youthful Days, He Never Gives Up) is gorgeous and the natural daylight showcased in the outdoor scenes is so lush and serene that one can't help but become absorbed into the storytelling. The evocative visuals are a key component to the lush filmmaking. Enhancing the bright and sugary tone of the story is the music by Mou-Shan Huang (The Legend of the Six Dynasty, Never Kiss a Ninja). The songs are so charming, upbeat, and enjoyable from scene-to-scene.

Both written and directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, the filmmaking is exquisite. The screenplay is far more unique and creative than one may be expecting to find in a romantic-comedy. The tone is creative and has a lot of fun with the concept while crafting a breezy, lighthearted experience that should easily win over audiences. Cute Girl is about more than just good looks: the filmmaking has a heart, too. A classic slice of life film by Hou Hsiao-hsien that rewards viewers with a good time. A perfect Sunday matinee.

Cute Girl Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from distributor Eureka Entertainment as a part of the prestigious Masters of Cinema line, Cute Girl features a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The quality of the print used for the presentation is downright beautiful to behold. Cute Girl has been lovingly restored with the involvement of director Hou Hsiao-hsien and the World Cinema Project.

The encode is surprisingly robust and has exceptional color reproduction (despite some minor instances of color fluctuations which are not too distracting overall). The print used only has a few minor specks on the print and is mostly in excellent condition. Though the film shows occasional minor scratches and specks there is nothing detrimental to the video. Fine film grain is left intact on the print.

Cute Girl Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The lossless 24 bit depth uncompressed mono audio is generally solid. The music sounds especially impressive throughout. Dialogue reproduction is reasonable. The track is clear and easy enough to understand from scene to scene. However, the audio track isn't without some flaws: the track is occasionally a bit harsh sounding and dialogue is not as perfectly crisp as is ideally desirable. Nonetheless, the audio track seems sufficient given the age and quality of the source materials.

Cute Girl Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Happy New Year: Cute Girl Video Essay (HD, 14:58) explores the romance and whimsy of the debut film of director Hou Hsiao-hsien. The piece explores the way in which the film fits into the romantic comedy genre and how Hou Hsiao-hsien graduated from screenwriting to becoming a full-fledged writer-director.

Cute Girl Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A beautiful romance, Cute Girl is a charming slice-of-life gem that strikes all the right notes on the heartstrings. The production is impressive (with gorgeous photography and enjoyable music). The performances are entertaining and downright robust. As the debut of director Hou Hsiao-hsien, it's a remarkable achievement that showcases the brilliance of the filmmaker. A must-see underrated classic.