Blue Sun Palace
Blue Sun Palace arrived with some acclaim when it debuted on the festival circuit but I was unconvinced throughout. The opening scene, and the first about half hour really, are not too shabby. Cheung (Lee Kang-sheng) and Didi (Haipeng Xu) are a makeshift but somehow functioning couple, he having a wife back in Taiwan and she being a massuer, who sometimes tips over to the naughty kind.
However, it is after the inciting incident at the centre of the film that it takes a nosedive. Perhaps the director wanted to convey how the lives of surrounding people after an act of violence can become pointless (or that’s how they themselves perceive it) but the plot itself starts drifting to the point of pointlessness. Nothing held the frayed story in place, not the acting and not the cinematography (though it is impressive).
You can feel the film striving for tenderness but the end result is more stale than piquant. There’s a second incident of violence later in the film that is sensational enough in isolation but by that point any interest the film holds has evaporated.
All the food looks nice though.
Dust Bunny
Adults always tell kids to listen to what they say or they will get hurt. Dust Bunny flips that equation as adults not only get hurt when they don’t listen to kids (or rather a single kid) but actually get killed.
Aurora and her ‘intriguing neighbour’ (the cute Sophie Sloan and the even cuter Mads Mikkelsen) are tormented by…..that’s actually the crux of the film. After her parents’ death (shown offscreen), the neighbour belives they are being targeted by a cabal of assassins coming for him, while the girl believes it is actually a monster destined for her.
For a while, the film plays this two conflicting realities equally. We have seen enough of these stories, we know the film can cop out with it was all in the head at any time. But this is a film of pure conviction, and flows along well enough that any outcome is acceptable.
It is directed with verve, full of cutesy dialogue and imagery, but also startling violence and retribution. The central duo is supported by Sigourney Weaver, in her best recent performance. The dialogue is snappy, getting important plot points across through quips rather than long-winded exposition.
The visuals are alive and enthralling, ranging from a Chinatown-set battle with demons to Aurora’s apartment, brightly lit but with a corner of darkness in every frame.
Oh, and did I mention its a kids movie? Its somewhat dark subject matter and violence may preclude some kids from the audience but it’s riot for everyone else.
I have not seen any of director Bryan Fuller’s TV series, but if he keeps directing films of the same quality, a full-time transition to the big screen will be good news.
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