FIRST IMPRESSIONS
First impressions are important. The subsequent impressions work on heightening that first impressions. Sometimes, first impressions can be wrong if a lot of factors that affects the mood of the day. Yesterday, my mood was good. I went to watch LOVE CONQUERS ALL with my students.
Let me first congratulate Mui again for her winnings for her film* LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Beneath this line is my brutally honest feelings about the film and this is solely my readings into the film and the nature of international film festivals.
I was intrigued by the opening of the film. Framed and shot in a long take, the seated protagonist in a moving and bumpy bus with an old Indian man by her side. The old man changes seat with her and slowly breaks down in tears. Where is Mui situating the protagonist in this scene? That she is unaffected by the world surrounding her, which would be what really happened later in the story. That is the main problem of the story.
Once she reaches her aunt's restaurant stall, we are introduced to the main supporting protagonist which is a parallel to the protagonist's existence, her young cousin. The two stories will form the yin and yang of the film. One is about a cynical look into adult relationship, the other being the naive, optimistic and fantasy-like young relationship with a boy we never met.
For a good part of the story, we see the protagonist walking through morning market, night market, making phone calls to her mother and boyfriend with this other man stalking her. From the get-go, there is something wrong with the man. His outlook gave away how this man will situate himself in the story and later, he will tell the story of a boyfriend that pimps his girlfriend and there, lies the biggest flaw of the film( It depends on how one wants to see that as an advantage or as a flaw but I see it as one big cocked-out). The rest of the story after that moulds after that story. I can see that Mui is approaching a post modernistic structure to the film, yet she subverts the very structure that she was adhering to. For instance, the man is far too obvious in his outlook where we the audience are fairly certain that he has a problem or he will cause a problem. Foretelling a story ahead of time is a danger but given to a more matured and assured director, this gimmick can be pulled off but not Mui. Not yet. Is Ah Ping the protagonist, a human being or a zombie trudging through?
Based upon my understanding, Ah Ping is the victim in the film. She is somewhat fated to live the way that she live and being used by John, the man and because of love, she trudges along like an undead for the man. Initially during the so-called courtship, Ah Ping seems to be in control and John was seen to be our "man's best friend", following her with the tongue lapping away. Once John had her in the car, the control shifted and everything changes after that. Mui got away with it because she is a woman directing a film about a woman who is a victim. What happens if the work is directed by a man?
That is where the larger problem lies. The film maybe directed by a woman but the people surrounding the making of the film are men and how does it then one make the film out? I see the film as a carbon copy of Amir Muhammad, James Lee and Ho Yu Hang. There are traces of their aesthetics everywhere in the film. The question now is, where is the voice of Mui? She may have negotiated through their aesthetics with a woman's sensitivities but nonetheless, she is essentially plagiarizing their aesthetics. If in fact, the international film festivals are skewing towards this sort of storytelling aesthetics as the dominant part of Malaysian cinema, then we are not going to be able to sustain a brighter Malaysian cinema in the future. Why? Is the ability to bore the audience to death a talent? Is the ability to plagiarize a talent?
The parallel story might be the "hope" of the story but let us see how the young girl treats her mother. She treats the mother more of an irritant and we see how much the mother cares for the daughter by trying to reach out to her, even trying to do her homework. So the "hope" of the film lies on a selfish girl who does not seem to appreciate the mother's love. Mui got away with it because she is a woman. Simply put.
Mui is an intelligent and sensitive woman. It is time for her to break away from the parochial view of telling stories, liberate herself away from the influences of the names stated above and elevate herself as a storyteller that has her own voice.
With the current state where Malaysia is hailed as one of the bright spots in the region for films, I see it more as a fad than anything else. If the international jury keep on looking for this type of works and not opening up to other modes that can be offered by other Malaysian filmmakers, I see the failing of Malaysian cinema in the international arena in two years.
*the term is a misnomer as the story was shot on miniDV but since everybody seems to be using this term as an understanding, let me succumb myself to the masses.
Let me first congratulate Mui again for her winnings for her film* LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Beneath this line is my brutally honest feelings about the film and this is solely my readings into the film and the nature of international film festivals.
I was intrigued by the opening of the film. Framed and shot in a long take, the seated protagonist in a moving and bumpy bus with an old Indian man by her side. The old man changes seat with her and slowly breaks down in tears. Where is Mui situating the protagonist in this scene? That she is unaffected by the world surrounding her, which would be what really happened later in the story. That is the main problem of the story.
Once she reaches her aunt's restaurant stall, we are introduced to the main supporting protagonist which is a parallel to the protagonist's existence, her young cousin. The two stories will form the yin and yang of the film. One is about a cynical look into adult relationship, the other being the naive, optimistic and fantasy-like young relationship with a boy we never met.
For a good part of the story, we see the protagonist walking through morning market, night market, making phone calls to her mother and boyfriend with this other man stalking her. From the get-go, there is something wrong with the man. His outlook gave away how this man will situate himself in the story and later, he will tell the story of a boyfriend that pimps his girlfriend and there, lies the biggest flaw of the film( It depends on how one wants to see that as an advantage or as a flaw but I see it as one big cocked-out). The rest of the story after that moulds after that story. I can see that Mui is approaching a post modernistic structure to the film, yet she subverts the very structure that she was adhering to. For instance, the man is far too obvious in his outlook where we the audience are fairly certain that he has a problem or he will cause a problem. Foretelling a story ahead of time is a danger but given to a more matured and assured director, this gimmick can be pulled off but not Mui. Not yet. Is Ah Ping the protagonist, a human being or a zombie trudging through?
Based upon my understanding, Ah Ping is the victim in the film. She is somewhat fated to live the way that she live and being used by John, the man and because of love, she trudges along like an undead for the man. Initially during the so-called courtship, Ah Ping seems to be in control and John was seen to be our "man's best friend", following her with the tongue lapping away. Once John had her in the car, the control shifted and everything changes after that. Mui got away with it because she is a woman directing a film about a woman who is a victim. What happens if the work is directed by a man?
That is where the larger problem lies. The film maybe directed by a woman but the people surrounding the making of the film are men and how does it then one make the film out? I see the film as a carbon copy of Amir Muhammad, James Lee and Ho Yu Hang. There are traces of their aesthetics everywhere in the film. The question now is, where is the voice of Mui? She may have negotiated through their aesthetics with a woman's sensitivities but nonetheless, she is essentially plagiarizing their aesthetics. If in fact, the international film festivals are skewing towards this sort of storytelling aesthetics as the dominant part of Malaysian cinema, then we are not going to be able to sustain a brighter Malaysian cinema in the future. Why? Is the ability to bore the audience to death a talent? Is the ability to plagiarize a talent?
The parallel story might be the "hope" of the story but let us see how the young girl treats her mother. She treats the mother more of an irritant and we see how much the mother cares for the daughter by trying to reach out to her, even trying to do her homework. So the "hope" of the film lies on a selfish girl who does not seem to appreciate the mother's love. Mui got away with it because she is a woman. Simply put.
Mui is an intelligent and sensitive woman. It is time for her to break away from the parochial view of telling stories, liberate herself away from the influences of the names stated above and elevate herself as a storyteller that has her own voice.
With the current state where Malaysia is hailed as one of the bright spots in the region for films, I see it more as a fad than anything else. If the international jury keep on looking for this type of works and not opening up to other modes that can be offered by other Malaysian filmmakers, I see the failing of Malaysian cinema in the international arena in two years.
*the term is a misnomer as the story was shot on miniDV but since everybody seems to be using this term as an understanding, let me succumb myself to the masses.
posted by Unknown @ 9:00 AM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
Yeah, the little kid's quite a brat towards her mom, but somehow, the optimistic part of me hoped that the ending was where they would actually start to bond.
I'll send you an email. :D
I don't see it as a fad. But I see that you failed to notice the biggest difference between Amir, James, Yuhang and even you - Tan Chui Mui is a leng lui!
Keep writing Mr. Lim. Love to see your writing evolve into professional film critism : ) We need more film critics in Malaysia! Hassan and Benjamin alone will not do.
Even tho i havent seen 'Love Conquers All' to know how well it was directed or what would the storyline be if men took over to direct...I feel that whatever it is, plagarize or not, it is still Tan Chui Mui's work... Im not going against you, Mr. Patrick coz i see your side... but at the same time, if you're trying to debate that the show's traits were more to James, Yu Hang and Amir's direction, then you might be partly right or partly wrong. One would not know unless we ask Chui Mui herself.. but my opinion would be that (those traits you saw) was actually hers and it might happened to be just a coincidence with the men's traits... and as we all know, she is a woman who adheres to her storyline and her script... 'A Tree in Tanjung Malim', she said that the scripts written for the characters had to be followed exactly... and she had so many takes coz the actors did not follow exactly... so what if she does the same for the storyline? she doesnt change it... she just direct what she wants and probably would not follow what her co-directors or producers had to say... maybe at most 10% she would change to suit situations... but im sure she won't plagarize or do whatsoever and take credit for it... she has done well, and, no doubt, there's still room for improvement... but i still think that in this show of hers, ( i still fail to watch it, bum...) and if im not mistaken, it's her first movie rite? ( im bad at all this) im sure that she wants it to be told in her own way and not taking other directors' piece of work here and there and put it together to make it into a jigsaw puzzle... hope this is not confusing, tho i think it is.. sorry if you can't understand what im trying to voice out... but whatever it is, pls do correct me if im wrong... i stand corrected..
I am merely commenting that she has been strongly influenced by the works of Amir, James and Yu Hang. Jess, you need to see their works to understand where I am arriving at. Certainly, I see that your points are also well taken. You cannot deny also that James Lee's works are highly influenced by Tsai Ming Liang(If you have seen any of his works) and that translates to what I am trying to say about Mui's work. All filmmakers are influenced by some external factors to a larger degree. TRUE was very influenced by Japanese films. CHOICE was influenced by Cassavettes and DOGMA.
My point is the point of departure where one's individual voice can be seen in the image making process.
I see your point... You mean to say that one would get inspiration or ideas from another person's works... because one would like the other's works, therefore one would be highly influeced to put those traits into his/her work...is that so?Yea, i see your point... thanks!!
I recently viewed LOVE CONQUERS ALL at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and recorded my reactions to it -- along with a few others -- over here:-
http://webs-of-significance.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-2007-hkiff-viewing-experiences-2.html
If I were to put it all in a nutshell, it would be to say that I've found that you expressed a lot of my reservations with regards to the film -- and quite a bit earlier too!
Anyways, thought you might like to know that you're not alone in your opinion about what may well be the most international honored Malaysian film out there...
And Jess, if you're reading this: Just as a male filmmaker can take and present the kind of view that one would make them feel is empathetic as well as sympathetic with regards to females (cf. Kenzo Mizoguchi in SANSHO THE BAILIFF and Lawrence Ah Mon in QUEEN OF TEMPLE STREET), so too can a female filmmaker come across being more stereotypically male than one might expect with regards to her treatment of female subjects.
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