I don't agree with the abysmally low user rating for this film on IMDB.
The movies pace is slow. I watch mostly drama films from Europe, Asia, and South America, so I watch a lot of films with a slow pace. I think this film could be improved by trimming a few of the scenes that linger a bit longer than necessary.
The movie has several very powerful stories to tell. In Chou's story (he is the new employee at Mrs. Chen's workplace), a minimum of dialog richly expresses a great deal about what it is like to be gay in this society at this time. He must always be very cautious, very careful, and he must always live a dual life and remain completely 'in the closet'. I find it heartbreaking.
In Mrs. Chen's story, here is the one character who seems to be incredibly solid, stable, a real "rock", and yet the depth of her loneliness and longing for romantic love is so strong that in the end of the film she completely collapses in tears.
I like how the seemingly random, almost abstract scenes at the beginning of the movie are woven into the film later on. I like how the telephone is used used by the various characters. These characters are unable to talk to anyone about their feelings and their loneliness, except when they are on the telephone talking to an answering machine, or are talking on the telephone and are completely anonymous.
The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. This is a good drama with characters I relate to, I understand, and I care about. All the characters are desperately lonely and alienated deep inside, but on the surface they are all normal, average people going about their lives.
The movies pace is slow. I watch mostly drama films from Europe, Asia, and South America, so I watch a lot of films with a slow pace. I think this film could be improved by trimming a few of the scenes that linger a bit longer than necessary.
The movie has several very powerful stories to tell. In Chou's story (he is the new employee at Mrs. Chen's workplace), a minimum of dialog richly expresses a great deal about what it is like to be gay in this society at this time. He must always be very cautious, very careful, and he must always live a dual life and remain completely 'in the closet'. I find it heartbreaking.
In Mrs. Chen's story, here is the one character who seems to be incredibly solid, stable, a real "rock", and yet the depth of her loneliness and longing for romantic love is so strong that in the end of the film she completely collapses in tears.
I like how the seemingly random, almost abstract scenes at the beginning of the movie are woven into the film later on. I like how the telephone is used used by the various characters. These characters are unable to talk to anyone about their feelings and their loneliness, except when they are on the telephone talking to an answering machine, or are talking on the telephone and are completely anonymous.
The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. This is a good drama with characters I relate to, I understand, and I care about. All the characters are desperately lonely and alienated deep inside, but on the surface they are all normal, average people going about their lives.
