Humorous, macabre, and visually dazzling, this rendition of a classic Chinese ghost tale was a smash hit at this year's New Directors/New Films series at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Its fairytale structure crosses the ethereal boundaries of the living and the dead, portraying both the beauty and fragility of life on earth. A mild-mannered young installment collector, Ling Choi Sin (Leslie Cheung), in need of a night's lodging, is directed to Lan Ro Temple, which the local villagers know to be a hotbed of super-natural activity. He is awakened in the night by haunting music from an ancient Chinese lute, played by the girl-ghost of his dreams, Lit Siu Seen (Wong Tsu Hsien). The young couple decide to run away together-aided by the temple's resident Taoist monk and swordsman extraordinaire (Wo Ma)-but Lit's master in the spirit world, an androgynous monster with a killer tongue, has other plans for her. Director Ching Siu Tung is a former martial arts instructor, and A Chinese Ghost Story is, among other things, a gravity-defying ballet of swordplay. It is also a chaste coming-of-age love story set in the midst of (other)worldly sensuality. Veiled ghouls fly and samurai dance in the woods in this gorgeous and moody dreamplay.