Falling...in Love

Running time: 100 mins

At the heart of Falling... In Love are four people. Alan is a self-centered, self-abasing, cynical young man, easily swayed, up for anything, who by day parks cars at a ?love motel? and by night is involved with gamblers as an underground boxer. He is caught in relationships with three women: Angel, his girl friend, who is deeply in love with him even though he keeps her continually at arm?s length; Belle, an ex-girlfriend, who has just left her husband and is now a neighbor of Angels, neither of them knowing the other is involved with Alan; and ?Madame?, a somewhat older woman with whom he becomes sexually obsessed, despite the fact that she has an absent yakuza boyfriend.

This gorgeously shot film uses a cross-processing procedure on color reversal film stock that ?creates a visually astonishing world that successfully portrays the inner states of its protagonists? (Taipei Times). Slowly and carefully, almost without dialogue, the film wends its way towards the surprising yet somehow inevitable conclusion. There is a pervasive bittersweetness to director Wang Ming-Tai?s second feature film that is undeniable, and a strong personal talent behind the camera that bodes well for future films.

Charlie Cockey



GLOBAL LANDSCAPES