Love is our guide through life, whether it is the love for a child or for a companion. But the quest for this love may sometimes be a difficult one. Nowadays, more and more people are faced with a sentimental loneliness. Is it because of the stress generated by our modern way of life? Is it because we are afraid to commit ourselves? Or is it because we favour our professional life and tend to forget our personal one? Maybe it is a bit of all this.
Teng Yung-Shing's first feature film is made of three stories about sentimental loneliness. It combines two short stories: `Raincoat' and `Love at 7-11'. A third part deals with Kikuliu, the Geisha who has moved the director while he was researching for the movie in Kyoto.
Each story presents a different kind of loneliness. In `Love at 7-11', Tsai (Huand Pin-Yuan) only lives for his work. In fact, he spends his whole nights working. His encounter with a beautiful cashier, Hsiao Feng (Ko Huan-Ju), will nevertheless totally change both their lives. A third character, Hsiao Pan, is portrayed by the fabulous Julius Jay Miao.
The general thread of the story is very classical but the filming is splendid. It mixes very slow camera movements and steady shots in Hsiao Feng's apartment and a fast-paced shoulder camera in the 7-11.
The music is very romantic, accentuating the psychological dilemma of the three characters: Hsiao Pan loves her new client who loves her in return. But her ex-lover also loves her. We see her torn between them. Should she stay with her friend? Should she confess her love to this stranger that she sees every morning but whose name she doesn't even know?
The colours chosen for the movie enhance this reflection. The universe depicted outside is grey and dark, surrounded by concrete. In the 7-11, though, the colours are warm and welcoming. We can feel the happiness and the enlightenment that Hsiao Feng experiences. A very good example of this contrast in the movie is this scene: Hsiao Feng is inside and Tsai is outside, under the rain. Between them the automatic door stands as a symbol of the choice that is yet to be done.
This story could be concluded by the words `Carpe Diem', the moral being that we should take advantage of each second of our lives or spend our lives regretting the lost moments.
`Raincoat' deals with a different aspect of love: the ability to love beyond prejudices, beyond cultural or political differences. This is what A Chih (Wu Ke-Chun) and Ameko (Washtake Ayako) prove to us.
`Raincoat' could be divided in several chapters:
The hate against another people The discovery of the other Happiness and laughter The pleasure of sharing Shyness in love Return to the difficult reality
In the last part of the story, the shyness disappears. The Japanese legend of the raincoat is totally fictitious but adds an unexpected touch of romanticism: it tells that if you don't dare to declare your love to a woman, you just have to share your raincoat with her when the rain is falling. But strong as it is, Love is not enough to break a promise made to one's family. The sacrifice of this Love, though very typical of an Asian mentality, still touches us.
`Kikuliu' is probably the most emotional part of the movie. This documentary was shot in DV and is really moving. It is integrated to the fiction through Mr Tsai (from Love at the 7-11) who watches it on his computer. This brings us back to our own position: we watch somebody watching the life of somebody else. And behind the white mask of the geisha, we discover somebody really sensitive and authentic. This authenticity is probably the reason why the director has decided to include this interview in the movie.
Looking at those images, one can realise that we actually all wear a mask that we don't drop easily. Kikuliu drops it and explains what brought her to become a Geisha. Through her words, we understand all the love she carries in herself but cannot express.
This three-parts movie is really extraordinary and exceptionally moving. It is also very personal: the director took 18 years to realise such a perfect masterpiece. But the result is amazing: one is mesmerised by the rhythm, the lights, the stories and the passion that stand out. This love, this loneliness have become a social fact but the director, the actors and Kikuliu add a very personal touch to them, enthralling us.
Mr Teng Yung-Shing, don't wait 18 more years to direct your next movie! You are a wonderful director, one who directs with his heart. And, as film buff, we thank you for the emotions you brought to us.
Thank you, Teng Yung-Shing, for this INESCAPABLE MOVIE.
