The danger of making a light and fluffy caper movie is the risk you end up with a film so insubstantial it threatens to float away leaving nothing behind. Arvin Chen's Au Revoir, Taipei wants to be a charming little confection, the kind of matinee entertainment where nothing really bad ever happens and the audience remains glued to the screen from beginning to end, but despite some gorgeous production values and one or two moments of cinematic flair the whole is far too short and too scattershot to ever really gel.
The title refers to the lead, Kai (Jack Yao), a shiftless Taiwanese youth who's been half-heartedly pursuing a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend Faye, not long decamped to Paris. Kai dreams of visiting her, and spends long hours in a local bookstore teaching himself halting French while pretty clerk Susie (Amber Kuo) looks on, bemused.
The conflict originates...
The title refers to the lead, Kai (Jack Yao), a shiftless Taiwanese youth who's been half-heartedly pursuing a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend Faye, not long decamped to Paris. Kai dreams of visiting her, and spends long hours in a local bookstore teaching himself halting French while pretty clerk Susie (Amber Kuo) looks on, bemused.
The conflict originates...
- 8/11/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Specialty film festivals can pop up in the most unlikely of places. While the the film community thinks of Dallas as a poor second cousin to Austin (not without good reason), local residents, including myself, treasure and champion the events that bring diversity to a movie-going scene too often dominated by Hollywood product. And so Friday night was a mob scene in the lobby of Landmark's Magnolia Theater as the Asian Film Festival of Dallas opened its ninth edition.
Now, to be fair, the Magnolia is often jammed up on a weekend night: the lobby is small! Yet I'm told that the official opening night film, Arvin Chen's Au Revoir Taipei, filled the room; a very decent crowd (myself included) then filed in to witness Wong Jing's I Corrupt All Cops (the best title of the year), and the midnight showing of Japanese splatter pic Robogeisha sold out,...
Now, to be fair, the Magnolia is often jammed up on a weekend night: the lobby is small! Yet I'm told that the official opening night film, Arvin Chen's Au Revoir Taipei, filled the room; a very decent crowd (myself included) then filed in to witness Wong Jing's I Corrupt All Cops (the best title of the year), and the midnight showing of Japanese splatter pic Robogeisha sold out,...
- 7/25/2010
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
[Our thanks to Liz Reed of MangaLife.com for this review.]
Showing on July 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the Landmark Magnolia in Dallas, as part of the Asian Film Festival of Dallas.
If you could blend awkward relationships, quirky humor, and upbeat guitar-and-fiddle music with stunning shots of urban Taiwan, you'd get a taste of what Au revoir Taipei is all about. As a film without a clear-cut genre (I'd say indie-romantic-comedy with a splash of crime), you wouldn't expect it to be so intriguing and lighthearted at the same time. But first-time director Arvin Chen took risks, and they definitely paid off.
The script follows the lovesick Kai (Jack Yao), who is determined to learn French and win back the affection of his Paris-bound girlfriend. As he studies every night, he attracts the attention of a bookstore employee, Susie (Amber Kuo), who attempts to make conversation despite Kai's indifference. But when Kai borrows money from a retired gangster (Frankie...
Showing on July 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the Landmark Magnolia in Dallas, as part of the Asian Film Festival of Dallas.
If you could blend awkward relationships, quirky humor, and upbeat guitar-and-fiddle music with stunning shots of urban Taiwan, you'd get a taste of what Au revoir Taipei is all about. As a film without a clear-cut genre (I'd say indie-romantic-comedy with a splash of crime), you wouldn't expect it to be so intriguing and lighthearted at the same time. But first-time director Arvin Chen took risks, and they definitely paid off.
The script follows the lovesick Kai (Jack Yao), who is determined to learn French and win back the affection of his Paris-bound girlfriend. As he studies every night, he attracts the attention of a bookstore employee, Susie (Amber Kuo), who attempts to make conversation despite Kai's indifference. But when Kai borrows money from a retired gangster (Frankie...
- 7/21/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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