I really see the attraction of Edward Yang; really… he’s got a lot of great shots.
The problems start when the actors have to talk and then things rather fall apart.
Everybody’s basically overacting all the time.
But I mean, it’s pretty entertaining….
The guy on the left there, in particular — he’s just awful.
The plot’s kinda fun — but he established the main setup (some guys are gonna kill/kidnap/whatever this guy because he’s the son of somebody) in a text shown before the movie started. Is that lazy or brilliant? Did the producers demand that Yang add that because the movie would be too mysterious otherwise?
There’s all these absolutely brilliantly staged scenes — just so well done down to the smallest detail. And then the actors start acting, and you see them just waiting for their cues or for the other actor to deliver their line first and it’s just *sigh*. The acting isn’t even “amateurish”, which can be really charming — it’s just badly directed.
OK, this guy is definitely not an actor.
The funny scenes work well. The drama doesn’t altogether gel. But it certainly looks great, and there’s scenes that make you think you’re watching some kind of masterpiece.
But then there’s the next scene…
Mahjong. Edward Yang. 1996. ⚃
