BENDS - MIFF 2013

My first film for MIFF in 2013, the Hong Kong film “Bends” was a film I almost didn’t end up seeing.  It wasn’t until I did my final sweep of the festival guide that I noticed the cinematographer of “Bends” was none other than Christopher Doyle, and as such, the film immediately jumped onto my “must see” list.

The film is about a young Chinese man named Fai and the two women who populate his life.  The first and most important is his wife, who happens to be pregnant with their second child.  Being that Chinese law prohibits families from legally giving birth to more than one child, Fai is doing everything in his power to ensure his baby will be born over the border in Hong Kong.  The other woman in Fai’s life is his boss, Anna, for whom he works as a chauffeur for.  Anna herself is currently going through troubles of her own, as she has just been abandoned by her husband (after he appears to have gone bankrupt), and yet she continually tries to keep up appearances with her very rich friends and attempts to go about living her wealthy lifestyle (without the funds to afford it anymore), in an effort to disguise the fact that anything is wrong.

While the tales being told are very simple, I really enjoyed the leisurely pace of “Bends”.  It is an elegantly made film that is anchored by a fantastic and very naturalistic performance from Hong Kong star, Carina Lau as Anna.  Lau is utterly convincing as a woman suppressing her sadness and what she knows to be true; that her husband has left her, whilst trying to maintain her social status amongst her wealthy friends.  It is obvious that under the façade, that she is hurt and in a lot of pain, but it is as if Anna feels that if she stops to think about what has happened (and thus deal with it), she will never restart again, thus she is always on the move, keeping busy.  While it is Lau and her performance that holds the film together, ironically the story of Fai and his unborn child is arguably the more interesting of the two.  Chinese star Chen Kun fills the role of Fai, and while there is nothing wrong with his performance per se, it just seems to pale next to the magnificence of Lau’s work.

What I did find interesting about “Bends” was the political aspects of the film and namely the issue of the “one-child policy” that exists in mainland China.  It never occurred to me that people would be regularly trying to cross the border into Hong Kong to give birth, if they were already blessed with one child.  Writer / director Flora Lau obviously feels condemnation towards the law and believes that all children should be born with equal rights and while she gets these points across in her film, she never forces her opinions on the topic on us; it is all done quite subtly.

As I mentioned earlier, the main reason I wanted to see “Bends” was due to Christopher Doyle’s contributions to the film, and he did not disappoint.  The film is gorgeous to look at and is very, very elegant.  For mine, this is some of Doyle’s best work in years.  He regularly shots through surfaces or objects to create a unique perspective or distortion on the image and as usual is expert in using mirrors to conceive some stunningly beautiful shots.  Doyle also frames a lot of the film with objects obstructing parts of the image, almost as though we are a voyeur to a private moment.  He also makes Carina Lau look simply stunning.  Granted, Lau is a naturally attractive woman, but Christopher Doyle has always brought this beauty to the forefront over the many times he has been lucky enough to photograph her.

The only problem that I had with “Bends” was that at times I found myself confused at exactly where certain parts of the story were taking place.  I struggled to tell sometimes if we were in Hong Kong or on the mainland and was often wrong with what I initially thought.  One example of this was early on when Fai was keeping his wife hidden from prying eyes.  I thought they had smuggled her into Hong Kong already and that was way she was hiding, but she was on the mainland hiding the fact that she was pregnant.  Simple clarifications like this probably would have made “Bends” more enjoyable.

Overall, “Bends” is a modest film but a competent one from first time director Flora Lau.  While the film moves at a slow pace, it is never tedious, thanks mainly to a stellar performance from Carina Lau.  Christopher Doyle’s photography is also (unsurprisingly) first rate, making “Bends” a great way to start my MIFF journey for 2013.

3.5 Stars.