ReelFear
12-19-2005, 06:38 PM
Just released on Tartan Asia Extreme is Oxide Pang's AB-NORMAL BEAUTY. This movie is highly recommended for it's ultra-stylish camerawork, creative editing, and a plot that keeps taking unexpected turns. You really wont guess what the hell will happen next! The look of the film might even make Argento jealous! There are a few very violent scenes and a memorable soundtrack! A real surprise!! 8.5 out of 10.
dwatts
12-20-2005, 05:24 AM
I loved this film - loved loved loved it.
I wrote a review a while back, a search didn't turn it up, so here it is:
Due to the difficult nature of discussing a film, some scenes are discussed in these comments. I do not feel the plot or effect of the film is ruined here, and some critical elements have been ignored. However, there are some things that could be considered a "spoiler". Those who like to experience a film without any knowledge of the plot at all shouldn't read the main body of text.
Childhood trauma, loneliness, isolation, teenage homosexuality, living with a single parent who is career driven and funds your exploits as long as you stay out of their way….. and teenage kids trying to get to grip with death.
Heavy stuff. And all of it, and a little bit more, is dealt with in “Ab-Normal Beauty”, a film from the Asian continent by Oxide Pang. Race Wong plays “Jin”, the girl at the center of this story. In fact, the cast is kept very small, with three main characters, and one ancillary one (plus Jin’s mother). It’s a tight cast, but the film never feels limited. This was achieved by some cinematography that is so beautiful, at times it doesn’t matter if you’re following the story or not, and a unique use of sound. I can, without a doubt, say that this is the best use of sound I’ve seen in a movie for a long long time. Not content with having music play in an abstract way, highlighting the punches, Pang uses it almost as a character in the film, stealing techniques from music video that for once don’t feel as though they don’t belong.
In order to describe the character of Jin, one only needs to list the established signs of a potential suicide in a teen: Unhappiness, Gradual withdrawal into helplessness and apathy, Isolated behavior, Drop in school performance, Loss of interest in activities that formerly were sources of enjoyment, Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, helplessness, Fatigue or lack of energy or motivation, Change in sleep habits, Change in eating habits, Self-neglect, Preoccupation with sad thoughts or death, Loss of concentration, Increase in physical complaints, Sudden outbursts of temper, Reckless or dangerous behavior, Increased drug or alcohol abuse, Irritability, and restlessness. Jin begins to suffer from all of these things, and it’s difficult to believe that the Pang brothers weren’t well aware of the signs before drafting this character on the screen.
The story of “Ab-Normal Beauty” (their spelling, I don’t know if it’s a mistake, or intentional), is one of a daughter of a successful female business woman. The mother must go to London for a week on an assignment, leaving the daughter alone. The daughter is academically successful, with a background in the arts. The principle arts she’s interested in are Photography and Painting.
Once alone, Jin begins her spiral to madness. After winning yet another competition for her photography, this time by taking a picture of a flower, Jin complains that she doesn’t think the picture was very good. In essence, she feels she has used up the inspiration for her work, and that she’s “tired of taking pictures of flowers”. (As a bit of a photographer myself, these feelings actually raised a smile for me, thousands of camera club members around the world met each week to show each other their latest flower of insect macro shot, I can understand why she’d find it boring!)
However, one day she leaves her apartment. As she is about to cross the street, she hears in the distance, the screeching of car brakes, and a crash. Going in the direction of the crash, Jin finds a car that has wrecked into a wall, and a pedestrian that has been knocked down, lying in the road dead. Jin is initially disgusted by the sight, but she quickly overcomes this. Within this scene of carnage, her emotions, her soul, are finally stirred. Here is something that inspires, intrigues, that connects with her in some way. If nothing else, it makes her feel something. Without even thinking about it, she takes out her camera and begins to take snapshots of this moment of death.
This first instance then is the key to a large portion of the film. I certainly do not want to spoil each scene for those reading this, so suffice it to say, Jin’s introduction to death – and that moment of death – drives much of the remaining running time. Jin becomes obsessed with capturing that moment at which death occurs. As the dialog says, what is death but the shutter of the camera? At the point where is closes, death takes place, time stops.
The film also covers what can happen when one gets this close to death, when ones gets comfortable being at the edge between self-destruction and choosing the live. Jin spirals down. However, she is most certainly anchored by her love for her mother, which is strained by a secret from the past. She is also anchored to Jas, a girl whom she loves, and loves her in return, but their homosexuality is always hidden due to social norms. There is real caring between these two, even though Jin is emotionally lost in her search.
There is also another element to this film. I am going to leave it for other to discover its secrets though. Suffice it to say, once Jin’s new passion is known, someone else with a similar passion – but one that has taken it in a different direction – becomes involved, and Jin is about to get even closer to death.
Ab-Normal Beauty is a film about violence, death, and beauty. It’s about those unexpected moments where lives are snuffed out, and the indignity of the body once the soul has left. Once a life has come to and end, it’s about capturing that very last moment, which is often bloody and surreal. The pre-occupation with death in this film, and the quality of the actualization here, puts this one into a similar league as films that share some of the themes: Cronenberg’s Crash (sex, violence, and death), and In My Skin (self, violence). This film fits by giving us violence, death, and the past. While the characters of Crash and In My Skin are taking themselves into a new future, the central character in Ab-Normal Beauty is looking to the past. This film is the story of a young girl, always looking in the rear view mirror for that one moment to come rushing up. The very fear of it eats her away, and like many people of a fragile nature, she finds counsel in the arts.
For those that have grown tired of some of the common themes coming out in Asian horror films, then this film is for you. It’s different from what I have seen before, and better for it. Also, this is not an especially gory film, so if you’re looking for blood and guts, then you’ll be disappointed. I’d even go further and say gorehounds might well be bored. The thing is, often times gorehounds are fast-forwarding through to the deaths, to the blood and guts, so they can savor each drop and scream with whoops and hollers. In this film, however, the moments captured are quite beautiful. Most often, they are not portrayed with lots of thumping music and dramatic overtures of acting. Instead, they are paced, cerebral, and lit to perfection. There are plenty of dead things here, but it’s not wallowing in the gore.
Coming from Oxide Pang, I’m not quite sure what to say. I really disliked “The Eye”. The Eye was a wannabe American effort that preserved little of the culture in which it was set, desperate, it seemed, to be an American film. I felt none of that here. It’s been a while since I saw a film that was so beautiful. Taking a page from its own book, one can only say that much of this film is photographic. People often cite Argento’s “Suspiria” as being a film where you could any frame and have a beautiful picture. This is another one. However, the visual sensibilities here are very modern, with blues and greens predominating. Argento, curiously, used a similar scene in “The Card Player”.
Some of the framing in this film is the best I’ve ever seen. Here are fragments of film, single frames that just left me astonished. It gives the film a unique feel that is wonderful to experience. It was almost like walking through an art gallery, which each frame pinned to the wall, telling the story as you’re led around the rooms. It truly is that great.
I have already mentioned the use of sound, but I’ll do it again. The soundtrack, rendered on my DVD in a wonderful DTS surround track that gives your sound system a terrific work out, is one of a kind. Industrial, orchestral, techno, or a plain pop song, it is clear the filmmakers were as careful with the sounds and music they used as they were with the rest of the film.
A home run then. Perfect? No, not perfect. The climax to this film is a little over-the-top, although audiences for a modern horror film probably demanded something more dramatic than the simple awakening of a young girl. Still, what is there is delivered beautifully.
I can’t recommend this one enough. As someone who thought nothing of the Pang brothers after The Eye, I’ve had to reevaluate. This isn’t your typical Asian horror film, and is better for it. In my estimation, the Pang Brothers have gone from a zero to a ten in the space of a single film. That says it all really.
dwatts
12-20-2005, 06:49 AM
:D
I wrote it ages ago, but since I decided at that time to add that opening paragraph, I guess it must contain some spoilers of some kind. So rather than read through it in order to make sure it didn't have anything that ruined it for others, I put the whole thing in a spoiler tag... lame I suppose :lol:
KamuiX
12-25-2005, 04:38 AM
Yeah, I thought it was artfully shot, with some amazing cinematography, but the film itself left something to be desired. A lot of the Pang's films, even The Eye, feel like 2 films pasted together, and this one is the worst yet.
onebyone
01-05-2006, 09:30 AM
Yeah, I thought it was artfully shot, with some amazing cinematography, but the film itself left something to be desired. A lot of the Pang's films, even The Eye, feel like 2 films pasted together, and this one is the worst yet.
Agreed. I really liked it mind you as the subject matter is something I find inherently interesting. The lead actress was super and sold a lot of the drama, and the movie was indeed beautiful to look at, even in the ugliest moments. Still, I felt a bit unsatisfied when it was all said and done. I think the main problem was the whole "stalker" angle. It had potential and in some parts played quite stunningly well, but the resolution of it all was meh and not up to the movie's earlier promise. The whole thing, as interesting as it was to watch, really did seem just pasted on.
I also think the music could have been dialed way back in some scenes. It was obtrusive and MTV like on occasion. This needlessly pulled me out of the film on more than one occasion.
Gripes aside, I did like it and am glad I picked it up. In fact, I am probably going to rewatch some scenes later today.
Deaddevilman
01-13-2006, 09:46 AM
It was okay. Not anywhere near my Top 10, but watchable. It dragged on in a couple of places and could have done with better actress's rather then a HK pop duo. I also thought it was a cop out that the stalker turned out to be nobody in the story line, like they had no creative juices to tell his story. I have no idea why he was doing what he was doing and why he was obssessed with the main actress. I was especially disapointed when when she turned to seducing her captor to escape... I've never seen that before:rolleyes:
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