Kiss & Spell

Spellbinding hilarity ensues when a magician, who is deathly afraid of ghosts, falls for a girl haunted by them in this surreal Vietnamese romcom from late writer/director Stephane Gauger, who tragically passed away during post-production. Tung is at the height of his career making audiences believe in ghosts, ironically his own phobia. He’s smitten by a member of his staff, Phuong, who’s quietly lonely and refuses to go out with the production team; instead of friends, she has dinner parties at home with a giant teddy bear while FaceTiming her mother and fitness-obsessed sister. After Tung and crew finally coax Phuong out for drinks, she drunkenly reveals that ghosts haunt her everyday life and everyone close to her, hence her hermit ways. Tung laughs her story off…until Phuong’s ghosts start following him to scare him off from his romantic pursuits. In a quirky clash of fear and attraction, Tung and Phuong embark on a quest to free her from the ghosts of friendships past and their curse of loneliness. A remake of the Korean hit Spellbound, this jovial comedy-horror-romance delivers heart and laughter by the bellyful.—SIFF