Thoughtful, ravishingly lit & composed, and just a tad dull, this debut feature from Taiwan writer/director C.B. Yi has the wide-eyed appeal of a fresh look at the oldest game in town . . . male division. Laing Fei, new Call Boy in the Big City, earns cash to help his extended, disapproving family in a small town he hasn’t visited in ages, even missing his mother’s funeral. Mentored, if that’s the word, by Xiaolai, a more experienced sex worker, they’re also romantic partners. But after Xiaolai is seriously injured protecting Fei, and Fei’s delayed trip home leaves him further estranged from the family elders, they grow apart. (Xiaolai will marry and become a father.) Back working, Fei is soon reluctantly mentoring Liang Long, a doggishly devoted friend from his hometown who’s followed him to the city; the cycle repeating. But a chance meeting with Xiaolai reshuffles all the relationships. A visually elegant film about inelegant situations, Yi largely sticks to static full-figure shots, often with a slow tracking push-in, but not making a fetish of it.* The film’s Achilles Heel is in Fei’s unbending personality, moody & depressed at all times. You wonder why his ‘clients’ rebook. Sure he’s good looking, but not that good looking. Fortunately, Yi’s visual flair, especially for full frame 'master-shot' composition and color (check out an uncomfortable restaurant wedding celebration sequence throbbing with tension) make you want to see what he’ll do next.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *It’s one of those films where you catch yourself closely watching frame edges to confirm (or deny) that the camera really is tracking in. Then give yourself bonus points for spotting if it’s a real tracking shot (as here) or a lousy zoom.
No comments:
Post a Comment