Alice Wu is not a very popular director in China. On the one hand, it is because of the theme of her film: love between the same sex. On the other hand, she was a BS and MS in computer science from Stanford University, started out as a software engineer, loved writing, and then started studying filmmaking. I envy her being able to pursue what she loves while living a near-perfect academic career.
Today, by chance, I was fortunate enough to watch Director Wu's "Face". At first, I didn't know that this drama was completed by Alice who was inspired by her experience of coming out to her mother growing up in the Chinese-American community, but I just sighed that some scenes were very subtle . It is a pity that only the 91-minute version can be seen in China, and I hope to see the complete 96-minute version one day.
Filmed in the United States and released at the Toronto Film Festival in 2004, the show features characters in English and Mandarin with some Shanghai accents.
Let me talk about the overall feeling of this movie first. When watching this movie, I can always think of Mr. Bai Xianyong's tea for two, which was the scene of the "Happy Times" in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The bars are filled with a nostalgic atmosphere of old New York, which is like a dream and a fantasy. Perhaps because this is a film made nearly 20 years ago, the relatively backward shooting equipment and the originally unclear picture added a hazy feeling to the progress of the play. The tone of the whole play is gray and dark. Wil works in the operating room with faint lights, and the vending machine alone emits a bright and lonely light in the dark. Wil's comfortable chatting with foreign friends and the boldness in communication contrast with Wil's carefulness, etiquette and face when getting along with his mother, Wil's mother and grandparents. In the final analysis, this is the reason for the cultural differences in that era.
Next, let’s talk about my understanding of the characters and the interactions between the characters. Wil is a young and promising doctor, but she is not too young in love and marriage. She is a homosexual, and she has always let her family Living in her illusion, not to mention cultural differences here, is more of a kind of "ethics" inherent in the world. She is kind and can accept the surgery that other doctors asked her to do when she is tired or even about to break her girlfriend's appointment. She is quiet, calm, gentle, and doesn't talk much. Vivian is a ballet dancer who wants to dance more free modern dance. She is a proper artist. She has an unrestrained and enthusiastic personality and dares to pursue what she likes. Her active pursuit of wil made me feel both incredible and reasonable. Vivian's father is a doctor, and her mother is also very open, with reasonable care and understanding for her daughter's emotional life. Wil and Vivian, who have very different personalities, were able to give each other a superfluous and deep look at the American Chinese ballroom when they "first" met, and Vivian's bold inquiries and temptations made the progress of the show much faster.
But the show didn't stop there. More obstacles are on the wil side, where an extra plot is needed to move the main plot forward. Maybe we will think, wil live alone, his own feelings are in charge, and he can even stay up all night, everything is so smooth. So, the director arranged for a mother to form the first obstacle. This mother is not only a conservative-minded mother who hopes that her daughter can live a so-called normal woman's life, but also has an incident that carries a conflict between moral ethics and an open culture: she became pregnant at the age of 48. , and the father of the child is unknown. Said to be unknown, but in fact, the mother did not want to say it. The social circle of Chinese Americans is very narrow. The grandfather of a university professor is conservative in his thinking. He couldn't tolerate such a bad family style in his daughter, so he kicked his daughter out of the house. So, Wil and his mother, who were both carrying secrets that were inconsistent with ethics, lived together. There are contradictions in the story, so there is a new advance.
Another obstacle is Wil herself, maybe she is bold enough, but not bold enough to say love. Vivian was about to fly to Paris at the airport. Vivian gave Wil one last chance to kiss herself, but the cowardly Wil still failed to take that step. She couldn't kiss a woman in public.
The ending of the play did not make the story very complete. In a few short ballroom dance scenes, my mother finally danced with the person she loves. Wil and Vivian also met again at the dance party. They embraced and touched each other delicately. And kissing, the grandfather sat angrily and helplessly sighed that the world was corrupt, and the Chinese aunts who liked to talk are still chatting and discussing something. Maybe the face is just the vanity in the mouth of the grandfather who is full of benevolence, righteousness and morality and the pedantic ideas that cannot be eliminated, because of civilization.
Civilization dictates, times are changing.
Then borrow Mr. Bai Xianyong's tea for two:
Tea for Two
And Two for Tea
Just me for you
And you for me
Alone——
I hope that the characters in the play can also snuggle with each other, holding a glass of sweet rainbow wine in their hands.
Text: wyf
2021.08.02
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