Café Lumière

DIR: Hou Hsiao-Hsien | Japan | 2003 | 104 min.
In Japanese with English subtitles

SHOWTIMES:
Wed. Sept. 29 | 9:30pm | Vogue Theatre
Sat. Oct. 2 | 1:00pm | Granville 7 Cinema, Theatre 7

Taiwanese director, Hou Hsiao-Hsien's first collaboration with Japanese actors, proves a wonderfully open story that leaves the audience with an abstract notion of passage. The Chinese title can be better translated as "Coffee, Time and Light," denoting the passage of the years as a still and luminous process. Yoko, a young woman researching Taiwanese composer Jiang Wenye, is pregnant by a boyfriend she will not marry (because he is too close to his mother). She finds companionship with Hajime, a bookstore owner and a lover of Japanese railways.

Dedicated to Yasujiro Ozu, this film succeeds in conveying the passing of the everyday, the natural development of human relations and changes in life. When compared to Ozu's Tokyo Story, Hou Hsiao-Hsien has yet a lot to learn. In Ozu's masterpiece, subtle characterizations and events lead to emotional punctures. Hou's film remains flat throughout and no emotion escapes the calm surface. Although this subtlety is an art in itself, it can become ineffective when overused. Like the many scenes of trains and railroads, the serene, regular movement of this film promises a final destination; however, it only takes us to mid-way stops where we are left waiting.