VIFF 2009 | Written By (Joi Sun Ho) at Schema : more than ethnic

VIFF 2009 | Written By (Joi Sun Ho)

Written By (Joi Sun Ho)
Hong Kong, 2009, 86 mins
DIR: Ka-Fai Wai, Charles Heung, Raymond Lei

In this multi-layered melodrama, a young family is torn apart by a brutal car accident.

Tony, the father, is the only one killed. Although his wife and two children survive, their lives are forever ruptured. His daughter Melody is blinded, his wife Mandy is haunted by his death, and his son Oscar quietly fades into the background.

But the car crash is only the first incident in a web of fantastical tragedies, ghost stories, and cross-pollinating plots.

A decade after Tony's passing, Melody decides to write a novel to soothe her mother's incessant pain. In it, Tony is the sole survivor, left blinded and missing his deceased family. At first, the novel is a playful inversion and their lives are likened to opposite sides of a coin.

The magic truly begins when Tony starts to write his own novel, one in which his family is still alive. The intersecting narratives spin the coin and open ghostly gateways. As in a bedtime story co-authored by parent and child, anything is possible.

When tragedy strikes again, the authors lose control and their stories become dark, chaotic, and entangled. A mystery door leads to the only place where all versions can meet: the realm of Meng Po, the mythical Chinese goddess of the underworld, where a 12-year-old Melody has planted a counterfeit book of the dead.

The cinematography is visually imaginative, doing much to contrast scenes of laughter and life with those of horror and death. The camera pans over both colourful children's toys and putrid, bleeding purses. You may find yourself trying to organize the layers and predict the next twist by keeping track of the indicators, like differences in tint and wardrobe.

If you're not a fan of tearful reunions and you prefer linear plot lines, this is not the film for you. However, if you enjoy unbridled emotion and magical mysteries, you'll be charmed by this unpredictable film.

Schema Magazine's coverage of VIFF 2009 is sponsored by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival