From the point of view of a Nicholas Lea fan - *slight* spoiler. Seen in Vancouver at the premiere showing, Jan 24, 2001, Tinseltown Theatre.
Lunch With Charles is a movie with heart.
We all knew it was going to be, because Nick Lea took a lead. More than that, he is credited as an executive producer, so it was always bound to have heart. It's a gentle film, in which six very different people find a way forward, and in doing so succeed in overcoming their own dissatisfaction with their lives.
Written as well as directed by Michael Parker, it's a kindly movie, that pokes fun at the way cultures interact, without actually making fun of the cultures themselves.
The basic plot has a Hong Kong resident, Tong, who is a realtor but whose heart is really in music making. He doesn't feel that he is attractive enough to make it as a singer in Hong Kong, but he loves music. His wife, April, has been in Canada for three years, and she is a driven, humourless yuppie who has given Tong an ultimatum. Come to Canada or the marriage is over.
He finally comes to Vancouver just as April departs for the interior in order to carry out a promotion for an Irish Beer manufacturer, just as Tong arrives in town. April and Tong miss each other, and Tong sets off to Banff.
Natasha and Matthew (Nicholas Lea) come in here. They are free spirits - well, to be honest, Natasha is a free spirit, whilst Matthew is trying to be, really trying hard, but failing lamentably. He and Natasha run a Bed and Breakfast, and it has to be the most insalubrious place I've seen in a while. Natasha is in the throes of leaving Matthew after three years of togetherness, and she too sets off for Banff to further her singing career. Tong's wife, April, also sets off for Banff and Matthew hitches a ride...
The movie follows the four, as they miss each other by the narrowest of margins as they cross BC. The scenery is beautiful, the mishaps along the way are amusing and the protagonists gradually get to know each other despite being separated by apparently unbridgeable cultural gulfs.
Francoise Yip is hilarious as a driven PR assistant who doesn't actually speak Chinese, who gradually comes to appreciate the Irish. Tom Scholte is the offensive young Irish beer executive. Bif Naked is as eccentric as one might imagine, but fun for all that, and she sparks nicely off Sean Lau, whose Tong is a lugubrious chap with a serious nicotine habit. Theresa Lee is convincing as the promoter, April, who sees everything in terms of deadlines, and who finds Nick Lea's Matthew a completely incomprehensible character at the start of their odyssey.
There are a lot of mishaps on the way to the rockies, and I won't spoil it for you, but it's a cute, funny movie that is beautifully shot with several scenic set pieces that are quite breathtaking. At the end of the movie, all six of the characters have learned enough about themselves to be tolerant, and therein lies the message. Nick Lea shines. His character attacks things with a barely suppressed fury and frustration that gradually eases through the course of the story. His attempts at meditating are absolutely vibrating with stress. It was hilarious to watch. One of my favourite lines is delivered in exasperation to April as they drive through the Okanagan. "You're in postcard heaven, and you're running a telethon." he says to her in disgust.
Go and see it, if you can catch it. You'll be glad that you did.
From Sue.
Lunch With Charles is a movie with heart.
We all knew it was going to be, because Nick Lea took a lead. More than that, he is credited as an executive producer, so it was always bound to have heart. It's a gentle film, in which six very different people find a way forward, and in doing so succeed in overcoming their own dissatisfaction with their lives.
Written as well as directed by Michael Parker, it's a kindly movie, that pokes fun at the way cultures interact, without actually making fun of the cultures themselves.
The basic plot has a Hong Kong resident, Tong, who is a realtor but whose heart is really in music making. He doesn't feel that he is attractive enough to make it as a singer in Hong Kong, but he loves music. His wife, April, has been in Canada for three years, and she is a driven, humourless yuppie who has given Tong an ultimatum. Come to Canada or the marriage is over.
He finally comes to Vancouver just as April departs for the interior in order to carry out a promotion for an Irish Beer manufacturer, just as Tong arrives in town. April and Tong miss each other, and Tong sets off to Banff.
Natasha and Matthew (Nicholas Lea) come in here. They are free spirits - well, to be honest, Natasha is a free spirit, whilst Matthew is trying to be, really trying hard, but failing lamentably. He and Natasha run a Bed and Breakfast, and it has to be the most insalubrious place I've seen in a while. Natasha is in the throes of leaving Matthew after three years of togetherness, and she too sets off for Banff to further her singing career. Tong's wife, April, also sets off for Banff and Matthew hitches a ride...
The movie follows the four, as they miss each other by the narrowest of margins as they cross BC. The scenery is beautiful, the mishaps along the way are amusing and the protagonists gradually get to know each other despite being separated by apparently unbridgeable cultural gulfs.
Francoise Yip is hilarious as a driven PR assistant who doesn't actually speak Chinese, who gradually comes to appreciate the Irish. Tom Scholte is the offensive young Irish beer executive. Bif Naked is as eccentric as one might imagine, but fun for all that, and she sparks nicely off Sean Lau, whose Tong is a lugubrious chap with a serious nicotine habit. Theresa Lee is convincing as the promoter, April, who sees everything in terms of deadlines, and who finds Nick Lea's Matthew a completely incomprehensible character at the start of their odyssey.
There are a lot of mishaps on the way to the rockies, and I won't spoil it for you, but it's a cute, funny movie that is beautifully shot with several scenic set pieces that are quite breathtaking. At the end of the movie, all six of the characters have learned enough about themselves to be tolerant, and therein lies the message. Nick Lea shines. His character attacks things with a barely suppressed fury and frustration that gradually eases through the course of the story. His attempts at meditating are absolutely vibrating with stress. It was hilarious to watch. One of my favourite lines is delivered in exasperation to April as they drive through the Okanagan. "You're in postcard heaven, and you're running a telethon." he says to her in disgust.
Go and see it, if you can catch it. You'll be glad that you did.
From Sue.