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SFIAAFF 2009: Asian films

By APA Staff

APA's report on the 27th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival includes capsule reviews of Kanchivaram and The Equation of Love and Death .

Equation of Love and Death
dir: Cao Bao Ping 

The Equation of Love and Death takes place in the smoky interior of a taxi, where Zhou Xun, your chain-smoking, blank-staring driver, will take you on an emotional journey of love, deception and heartbreak across the dusty landscape of Kunming. Limi (Zhou Xun) is a lovelorn taxi driver who has been desperately searching for a missing boyfriend for four years. As two seemingly harmless migrant workers board her taxi, a simple taxi ride turns into a meandering detour with drug trafficking, kidnapping and secret identities. A romantic thriller filled with unexpected twists and occasional dry humor, this coincidence-driven tale is a bumpy but gratifying joy ride. However, sometimes the narrative drives well over the speed limit of good story telling. It moves so fast that at one point, a voiceover was needed to narrate a back story in order to untangle messes. Despite its over-sped plot, the movie was blessed with a shinning cast of actors. Zhou pulls off a tough, street-wise taxi driver whose neurotic outbreaks reveal a vulnerability that keeps Limi as real as can be. Zhang Han Yu rious double identities of Fang Wen and Ma Bing. Snatching a best new director award for Cao Bao Ping at the San Sebastian Film Fest, The Equation of Love and Death also earned Zhou Xun a Best Actress Award at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. --Winghei Kwok
 

Love of Siam
dir: Chookiat Sakveerakul

Set in the bustling shopping center Siam Square of Bangkok, Thailand, Love of Siam is a groundbreaking film that declares itself as a family drama -- but what truly is at the center of the story is the gay romance between the two male leads, Mew and Tong (played by young rising actors Witwisit Hiranyawongkul and Mario Maurer, respectively) which the audience follows over the course of their childhood and into their adolescent years. While the director claims the film is not a gay movie, it is still interesting to see a film that focuses on male young-adult romances in Thailand. Love of Siam features a soundtrack which boasts love songs from Mew's boyband August, which is probably requisite in every youth-centered romance flick. The story, while pitched at a young audience, is engaging enough for a wider audience, both gay and straight alike. After dominating the national awards circuit in Thailand, the film quickly picked up buzz through the international film festival circuit.  --Kanara Ty

Panda Candy
dir: Peng Lei

Singer-turned-director Peng Lei shot The Panda Candy while touring with his band, lending the film a sense of kinetic movement with its askew camera angles, disjointed narrative, and evocative filters. Half the plot mimics Lei's journey: Taki, a lonely lesbian, wanders through China searching for meaningful companionship while following a band by train. At each venue Taki hits on a female fan, always resulting in one of two unsatisfactory outcomes: complete rejection or a one night stand. The other half follows Chun Sue, who is unable to find a decent guy or a place to stay. She finds herself being wooed by a pretentious fop of an artist and stalked by an eccentric skateboarder in her search. There isn't much introspection as they toil through their disappointments, just a sensation of constant movement until their paths briefly converge. Dialogue gradually takes a back seat to unspoken sentiment and wistful desire; the final third of the film doesn't have (or need) any spoken dialogue. Superficial but intensely sensual, the film can be viewed as a rumination on loneliness and as a cursory glimpse into the lives of a new generation of hipsters, lesbians, and would-be artists in a rapidly changing China. --William Hong

Kanchivaram
dir: Priyadarshan

Instead of basking in a Bollywood Technicolor dream, Kanchivaram paints a bleak, realistic portrait of rural 1940s Tamil Nadu. Set in the titular town, the film follows the story of Vengadam (brilliantly portrayed by Prakash Raj) who plays the son of a master silk weaver who wishes to provide his wife and daughter with beautiful saris, but finds himself getting wound up in communist ideals and battling against a system that ultimately destroys his dreams and life. Director Priyadarshan tells this story with such authenticity that it'll definitely make the audience think.  --Kanara Ty

Adela
dir: Adolfo Alix., Jr.

When you have a terrible day on your birthday, all your misfortunes seem amplified. Adela (veteran Filipino actress Anita Linda), a former radio personality who just reached her  80th birthday, is a beloved maternal figure in a community built on a massive dump site. Her day begins with much promise as she goes about preparing for a family reunion, but Adela finds herself beset by misfortune as her day progresses. Despite her troubles and the socio-political issues faced by the community, Adela illuminates each scene with her charm and facial expressions. In contrast, her daily routine is languidly framed through still, long shots that evoke a feeling of emptiness. As the day draws on, she finds herself more and more disconnected from society. The film's most indelible moment is a close up portrait of Adela: world weariness, disappointment, and isolation are hauntingly etched on her face as her eyes poignantly reflect on what could have
been. --William Hong

Previously covered by APA:

All Around Us (dir: Ryosuke Hashiguchi )
Heaven on Earth (dir: Deepa Mehta)
24 City (dir: Jia Zhang-ke)
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (dir: Aditya Chopra )
Lust, Caution (dir: Ang Lee)
The Chaser (dir: Na Hong-Jin)
Tokyo! (dir: Michel Gondry, Leo Carax, Bong Joon-ho)
My Dear Enemy (dir: Lee Yoon-ki)

Date Posted: 4/3/2009