The Unbroken Cycle
In the 1920s,Singapore:
Zhiyue is an opera performer who turns
up in Jiang Qi-ye's mansion to sing specially for him and his family. Both Qi-ye
and the family rickshaw puller, Hai, are smitten with her. Zhiyue becomes
Qi-ye's fourth concubine and Hai is thrilled at the prospect of seeing her more
often. However, the latter only treats him as a younger brother and keeps giving
him treats. Her prized possession is a three-fold mirror which she keeps close
by her side.
Trapped in a miserable marriage, she often gets Hai to accompany her to the
beach and Tian Fu Temple. When she contracts venereal disease from Qi-ye, she is
sent to live in a cottage by the sea with only Hai to take care of her. On her
deathbed, Zhiyue gives Hai her treasured three-fold mirror. Hai is shattered.
In the 1960s, Singapore:
Zhang Hai, now in his
fifties, is shocked when he first saw Li Xiangmei, a flirty songstress, for she
is a splitting image of Zhiyue. He tries to get to know her but is played upon a
trick by Xiangmei's buddy, Lulu. He finally gets his chance when the nightclub
organises a dance event. However it is not before Lulu fooled him again that
Xiangmei unexpectedly appears in front of him in soft light produced by a
lighter.
Though Xiangmei is initially turned off by Zhang Hai's job as a second mate on
the ship, she is gradually won over by his sincerity. He fills Xiangmei in about
Zhiyue and even takes her around on a rickshaw which he pulls himself.
Their relationship incurs the wreath and jealousy of Xian Fengwen, a triad leader, who has the hots for Xiangmei. The latter purposely offends him and gets both herself and Zhang Hai into deep trouble. Xian Fengwen sends his men to beat Zhang Hai up and publicly insults her. A furious Xiangmei tips the police off about his new shipment of drugs.
Xian Fengwen finds out who the culprit is and keeps sending death threats to Xiangmei. The latter has no choice but to flee. She is saddened by Zhang Hai's reluctance to take her away. He finally confesses that he has been taking Xiangmei as a substitution for Zhiyue, a love that can never be fulfilled. However Xiangmei declares that she loves Zhang Hai and will not care about anything else. Touched, Zhang Hai begins to accept Xiangmei as herself.
The fatal death threat comes on New Year's Eve and Xiangmei arranges to meet Zhang Hai at the old bridge. She turns up disguising as a man. Zhang Hai gives her the three-fold mirror as a new year gift.
Before long, Xian Fengwen's men turn up and shot them to death. With her last breath, Xiangmei declares that she wants to be with him again in her next life.
1995, Singapore
Ye Qin, a commercial photographer, is
hired to film an exhibition on antiques. Among the artefacts is a three-fold
mirror which gives her a lot of trouble everytime she tries to film it. She and
her assistants later find out the mirror was used for burial purposes in the
past.
The moment Zhou Xinghuan, a Ph.D. holder in computer studies, arrives in
Singapore to give a lecture, he feels, for some unexplained reasons, he knows
the place very well. That very night, he has a strange dream. In it, he saw a
fatal shooting outbreak on a bridge and the image of a couple falling. While
sightseeing with Amy ( Carole Lin ), he comes across an antique shop playing
Cantonese opera which he finds familiar.
Ye Qin takes home the three-fold mirror and strange things take place that
night. The next day, for no apparent reason, she buys herself a red cheongsam
and wears it to a pub. Then, shocking even herself, she starts acting coquettish
and flirts with the men around her.
Attracted by the photo of the three-fold mirror he sees in the exhibition
poster, Xinghuan attends the event and buys it. Ye Qin, who has the intention of
getting the mirror for herself, goes after him but fails to catch up with him.
Back home, Xinghuan is so busy with his work that he is unaware an apparition in
red cheongsam is sitting beside him at his desk.
Xinghuan has another nightmare again - this time, it is about the grave in the
wilderness. When he passes by Tian Fu Temple the next day, he has a distinct
feeling that he has been there before. Ye Qin, who still harbours hopes of
owning the three-fold mirror, traces Xinghuan through an antique dealer. Though
she runs into him in the hotel elevator, she is unaware that he is the man she
is looking for. The couple distinctly feels an air of familiarity about each
other.
On the eve of his departure from Singapore, Xinghuan smells sandalwood and hears
the strains of Cantonese opera in his hotel room. The spirit of Xiangmei lures
him to a bridge where Ye Qin is shooting a commercial. However, the couple does
not get to meet.
Later while taking shelter from the rain, Ye Qin spots Xinghuan and snaps a
picture of him. That night, Xinghuan dreams about the grave again and
oversleeps. As a result, he misses his flight back to the States. He decides to
stay and search for the grave which keeps appearing in his dream.
He comes across a tobacco pipe in Chinatown and buys it on impulse. Out of curiosity, he goes to see an Indian psychic and is told he has some unfinished business to settle from his previous life. Meanwhile, Amy persuades him to move into her brother's apartment as she feels his hotel room is haunted.
Later, Ye Qin develops the photo she took of Xinghuan and is taken aback to see a woman in red standing next to him. She tries again to find Xinghuan, but to no avail.
She realises that the cheongsam she bought looks exactly like the one the woman in Xinghuan's photo wore. Seized by fear, she throws it away. She drives home, unaware that an apparition ( Xiangmei ) with her face half covered by a sandalwood fan is sitting behind her.
Later, she wakes up from a horrible
nightmare and quickly gets her assistants, Bomb and Fei to go over to her place
to keep her company. However, when the two arrive, they are unable to find her.
Unknown to them, Xiangmei's spirit has possessed her and led her to a graveyard.
Ye Qin has the fright of her life when she comes out of her trance-like state,
realising where she is.
A set of numbers ( 196211, symbolising 1 January, 1962, the date which Xiangmei
and Zhang Hai died ) which appears mysteriously on his bathroom mirror leads
Xinghuan to Zhang Hai's grave. Xinghuan sees the resemblance between him and the
man in the tomb's photo. He checks up past years' newspapers at the library and
comes across a report on the tragic deaths of Xiangmei and Zhang Hai. He also
stumbles upon an obituary put up by Lulu for the couple. He locates her and
finds out how Xiangmei and Zhang Hai died. He is greatly disturbed by her
relevation.
Ye Qin learns that Xinghuan is still in Singapore, so she leaves her contact
number for him with the varsity office. While filming an ad on the same bridge,
she catches sight of Xiangmei's spirit. When she falls ill soon after, Xiangmei
possesses her and leads her to Hai's grave.
Bomb and Fei turn up at Ye Qin's place and find her behaving oddly. Shaken by
her horrifying experience, Ye Qin decides to spend the night at Bomb's place. As
a result, she misses Xinghuan's call.
Whilst driving to a friend's party on New Year's Eve, Xinghuan suddenly thinks
of a novel way to get in touch with Ye Qin. He calls up the radio station and
tells the programme host his wish to be reunited with the girl he loved in his
previous life.
Ye Qin, who is tuning in to the same programme, immediately calls up the station
and identifies herself as the owner of the three-fold mirror. She and Xinghuan
finally get to meet.
The star-crossed couple finally reconcile on the same bridge that Xiangmei and Zhang Hai died on, after going through the ordeal of an undying love being tortured by time and death, which simply started from the pure and innocent secret feelings of a young man he has for his master's fourth concubine.
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