Candy Rain (2008, Taiwan)

I must say, and maybe it's the latent lesbian in me, but I really liked this film. But it's not because of the patent lesbian content. This film captured the essence of "indie film" that I loved back in the 90s, where aesthetic, emotion and observation was as important or even more so than plot or character development, or even story-telling. It still has to be about something, but it's more intangible, a feeling.

The film is comprised of 4 vignettes, and I don't know what it is about vignettes that indie filmmakers in Taiwan, perhaps lesbian indie filmmakers, like so much, but off the top of my head, I can recall 3 films, including "Candy Rain", that are made up of vignettes, and 2 of them are lesbian-themed films. Oh, and I just thought of a 4th film I've seen in Taiwan, but I think that was either a Hong Kong film or a joint HK-Taiwan film.

Often the challenge of films comprised of vignettes is finding the thread that binds them, or else why make a film that is comprised of a bunch of short films.

The first of the four vignettes shows kind of an idyllic relationship, but it shows that as good as a relationship can get, where two people fall in love and are compatible, it's still hard. Things come up everyday that create tension in the relationship. But a lot of the times it's just small stuff.

After a near-breaking point, one of them leaves and thinks about going back to her hometown, but then realizes with the help of a local shopkeeper that things can endure, relationships can span time, and you don't need your partner to do it, that is, if you're not needy, if you're patient and persistent. It's idyllic.

The second vignette is about a woman who is looking for love, but is really tightly-wound, anal, meticulous, private, closed, unpretentious and down-to-earth. She keeps her apartment meticulously clean and times how long her instant noodles have been steeping. The woman she meets online is the exact opposite, bold and full of life, playful and sophisticated and worldly-wise. It is a short relationship, and they are ultimately incompatible.

The third vignette shows the alternative alternative lifestyle. The two main characters are completely in love, but one is determined to get married conventionally and have kids because she strongly feels she has to fulfill that social duty. They promise to get back together again in ten years time, but it's hard to plan 10 years in advance.

The fourth and final vignette, titled as the same title as the Chinese title of the movie, "The flower eats the girl", is stylized and humorous, but perhaps intentionally so because it includes very serious issues of violence and infidelity. The women are young, the relationships volatile. It's a time for being wild and free, and not so concerned about other people's feelings.

I do like that each of the vignettes says something distinct about relationships, and I think it should be appealing that the insights about relationships (I'm not saying they're deep, mind you) are universal, they're not lesbian issues.

How I describe each vignette is my interpretation, and I don't think I've spoiled anything. I'm not sure I like that the filmmaker does explain each vignette in brief, wrapping things up, instead of letting the audience have their own interpretation, and leaving the filmmaker's intention unmentioned.

There is a physical thread connecting all the vignettes, which is that the exterior of where they all live is the same place, and in each vignette, a package is delivered to "Candy Rain". How each package is received also represents something about the main characters.

With a great feel and great soundtrack and an observational use of the camera to capture moods and feelings or extract them from ordinary life, I give this film 9 out of 10 tomatoes.


Painted Skin (2008, China)

An unremarkable "ghost", not horror mind you, film. It was watchable enough on competent acting, provided by veteran actors Donny Yen, Wei (Vicky) Zhao and Xun Zhou – those are the ones that I know, at least.

Many elements of the characters and their motivations go unexplained, which is not fatal to the movie, just curiously annoying.

The film is about a fox spirit that infiltrates a Chinese city and people start dying for the fox spirit's sustenance, but love is the ultimate theme. Love is tested in a dual love triangle, but everything turns out alright, although I'm not sure why, and that said, it's not a powerful nor emotional film, with no insights or enduring impact. Unremarkable, I said.

Actually, the character I like the best is the rogue demon hunter played by Li (Betty) Sun, even though her character isn't developed enough to add to whatever the movie was getting at, but was prominent enough to dilute one of the love triangles' meaning. Go fig.

I'm on the fence whether to give this 5 (rotten) or 6 (fresh) tomatoes, but I think I'll just barely pass it with a 6 out of 10, just for being watchable, not being insulting, and I really like Vicky Zhao and Xun Zhou, but it's not a film I'd ever need or want to see again unless it happened to be on TV.