Kfc (2016)

Kfc is the debut feature of Lê Bình Giang - a young filmmaker who had to overcome many challenges, some due to the unique characteristics of this very film, in his way to bring this initially a graduate project to the audience. Called after the famous fried chicken brand that were among the first American fast-food companies, if not the first, able to break into the Vietnamese market after the normalization of bilateral relationships between the once bitter enemies Vietnam and the United States, this film does contain numerous images and plot points related to KFC - the food. But if someone expects a nice and cosy culinary cinema experience, they are in for a treat, a nightmarish treat that is. As this ultraviolet film is anything but nice and cosy. Instead, Bình Giang's debut is a revenge tale full of stomach - turning visuals and characters who made this purely - fiction environment a very hard world to live in and to believe in. Somehow the upfront and central role of violence, extreme and savagery violence, in this film reminds me of the 1992 mockumentary Man Bites Dog and also one of the most extreme action films of Hong Kong cinema since the turn of the new century Dog Bite Dog (2006). But more than just a replica of the past films or a collage of homages and borrow items of the action and crime genres, Kfc surprises the audience with a very clever non linear plot that requires them to give their utmost attention to each "misplaced" sequence of the film if they really want to figure out what really is going on in this hellish world, with these devilish characters. Of course, such concentration is not at all an easy feat since every single sequence of this film contains many unconventional and upsetting details, but if anyone with determination to stay through the one - hour length of the film and able to stitch together a somewhat comprehensible storyline for Kfc, they would surely appreciate the very distinctive characters and world-building carefully crafted by Lê Bình Giang, his crew, and the passionate cast. Judging by the creative script alone, Kfc could already be considered a commendable debut by a promising director. But when adding the consideration about the rather-conservative and traditional taste of the Vietnamese public and the fact that overtly violent domestic films would hardly be able to find their way to the big screens here, one should give Lê Bình Giang a big applause for his creativity and audacity. Of course, the violence in this film would understandably turn some viewers away, or be considered by others violent just for the sake of it like many slashers b-films churning out every year "straight to DVD". But for more open-minded viewers or ones already accustomed to stylistic slasher films and the nightmarish manga of Junji Ito and thus could stomach the incessant flow of imaginary violence and cannibalism in this film, Kfc could actual be a breath of fresh air of the indie genre that reflects the director's very unique view of violence itself, of lives and deaths, of the hardships one might encounter at the bottom of the modern society, and of the hard-to-imagine but actually very probable cruelty a human can inflict upon another for the sake of survival or revenge. Even without such a second layer of thought, the very creative nonlinear narrative of this film, which could make fans of Christopher Nolan think of his excellent second feature Memento (2000), is more than enough to make Kfc a memorable watching experience and a very impressive "Hello World" for Lê Bình Giang to filmgoers who expect new, and unique things coming to the cinema.

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This commissioned piece has been published somewhere.

Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2022)

This film is just a surprise to me. I know that it did come out somewhere this year but do not have any intention to watch it due to its lack of critical response or festival buzz (sadly mostly due to COVID - hopefully Johnnie To and Milky Way still have enough orders or financial backing to sustain any loss from this film's unfortunate-timing release), especially given the tepid output, quality- and quantity-wise, of Hong Kong cinema these days. Thanks to a long flight on an Asian airline, however, I had the chance to watch the film and got pretty emotional as it reminded me a lot of "the good old days" of Hong Kong cinema. I have to say that I really admire Johnnie To for his ability to "navigate" the Chinese censorship system to be able to pump out good films with investment from Mainland even. One ingredient surely is the lack of direct criticism of the "current Hong Kong" and instead focusing solely on the past or other apolitical cinematic themes. Such "velvet" touch turned out to be a boon for this anthological film, as the directors, who represent the "good old days" of Hong Kong cinema, were spared of the "responsibility" to criticize the present and could thus fully put their heart and mind on telling their personal stories about those "good old days". Of course, as personal as they are, some stories are rather underwhelming like Tsui Hark's sophisticatedly quirky yet emotion-detached section, or Sammo Hung's uneventful retelling of his days with Master Yu Jim-yuen (the part of whom Sammo actually already played in Painted Faces in 1988), but none are forgettable, and several are extremely emotional and memorable. The best, hands down, is Ann Hui's "Headmaster", which is a simple yet very emotional story about the dedication and sacrifices of ordinary Hong Kongers in making Hong Kong such a great place (at least during the "good old days" before the 1997 reintegration to China). With a minimalist script that is few in words but profound in meanings and good performance across the board, this section reminds me of Ann Hui's very own A Simple Life (about another lonely little Hong Kong lady that had an actually wonderful and meaningful life for the land that she lived and loved). Following "Headmaster" to me is probably Patrick Tam's "Tender in the Night" - a section that is very Wong Kar-wai-esque in depicting the duality of ephemerality and eternality of love and romance in the face of time and life decisions, enhanced by a very, very good and nostalgic soundtracks. On the other end of sophistication, Yuen Woo-ping's "Homecoming" is very simple, script-wise, but a much, much cherished section in my opinion due to its respectful touch on the wuxia genre (especially the traditional Shaw Brothers films) and a gentle reminder of its righteous and family-focus values that definitely have much longer lasting impacts than its actually rather simple action/wuxia sequences. Johnnie To's "Bonanza" is a little disappointment to me due to its lack of bombastic sequences, but after realizing that there is ANOTHER side of Master To - his quirky side, and that as the overseer of the whole project, he would not try to outshine his collaborators in that expensive and action-leaning way, I came to enjoy his part a lot since it provides the audience with an actual, albeit very brief, recent history of Hong Kong via its main events like the reintegration or SARS. Finally, Ringo Lam's "Astray", although not really an outstanding piece, also made me emotional due to its heart-warming treatment of the difficult subject of death, which, coincidentally enough, was what Ringo met just before the festival release of this film. If only Stephen Chow could join this project to round up it with the last and very important aspect of Hong Kong cinema - slapstick comedy... Probably the stale state of this once-glorious cinema is too sad for such treatment, and Chow is also too old, and too unmotivated to do even a small section like others. Still, this is a film to cherish for anyone who loves Hong Kong cinema of the past, and who still has some hope for better days of this cinema in the years to come.