February 27, 2014
fantome, ou es-tu? – Taiwan, 2010
Siu-Di Wang’s fantome,
ou es-tu? is one of the oddest films I have ever seen. It is at times
infuriating and at other times inspiring, all the while possessing a sweet
quirkiness and enough drama to keep both viewers involved and the rails from
becoming completely unhitched during its more ridiculous moments. The film has
shades of Ghost and 21 Grams, and contains two of the more
fascinating characters I’ve seen in a Taiwanese film since Singing Chen’s searing
God Man Dog. However, it also
contains many of those all-too common elements of Taiwanese films that
continually frustrate and confound western viewers, such as dialogue that
stretches credibility and a final scene that too conveniently wraps up every
loose angle and melts even the hardest of hearts. In fact, it wouldn’t be a
stretch to say that at times the film works in spite of itself.
The film is set in Kaohsiung ,
one of Taiwan ’s
major cities, and in the first scene, the audience is presented with a realistic
panoramic view of the city and its people. We see its majestic skyline, its
busy streets, its numerous street vendors, and its beautiful parks with their
unbelievable views of the night sky. In the first scene, the camera focuses our
attention on a young high school student named Ma Jun-An. (Yuan Huang). We
watch as he goes about his usual duties, selling food at a mobile stall, giving
food to a blind, physically challenged street vendor, and jogging in a park. He
is a runner with hopes of representing Taiwan in the Olympics.
The park’s tranquility is shattered by the arrival of a
biker gang in pursuit of two members of what must be a rival gang. Fists
quickly fly, and our hero rushes to intervene before the incident turns truly
violent. Tragically, he ends up being the only one wounded that night, having
been mistaken for a gang member rushing to join in the melee. He eventually
dies.
It is here where the film takes a turn toward the
supernatural, for Ma’s confused and frantic spirit suddenly appears in the
hospital just as his mother is being helped out in tears. It is here where the
film begins to resemble Ghost, for
Ma, having failed to resuscitate himself, begins traveling like mad from place
to place - running through walls, entering and exiting buildings, and jumping
onto passing subway trains. I half expected him to come across a fellow spirit
and ask him how to manipulate items in the physical world. Thankfully, the
comparisons to Ghost only go so far.
Eventually, Ma’s finds himself in the home of a young female
high school student named Wang Yu-Tung (Cheng Jin). Wang is a bit of a tomboy -
her hair is short, she wears jeans everywhere, and she swears like a drunken
sailor. However, more importantly, she is also the person whose brutal assault resulted
in Ma’s death. Early in the film, we watch as Ma stares out the small window in
Wang’s room and remarks to himself that he can’t find his way home. It is then
that he realizes that Wang can see and hear him.
What follows is a rather involving spiritual journey, for we
not only see the personal fall of Ma’s unfortunate mother but also the
beginning of Wang’s long road to redemption. We watch as Ma learns Wang’s
backstory, and gradually, both he and the audience begin to feel empathy toward
this tragic character. There is very little she can do to completely make up
for what she has done, but she becomes convinced that apologizing is the first
step.
The film reveals the occasional madness of Taiwan’s legal
system, and viewers unfamiliar with it may have trouble understanding the
actions of Ma’s mother, for she spends a great deal of time collecting “evidence”
of emotional trauma for what some consider to be Taiwan’s version of a civil
trial. The film also sheds a revealing light on the often mob-like
confrontations that can occur between the families of the crime victims and
those of criminal suspects. It also accurately portrays the damage that can be
caused by such things as infidelity and the preference for male children in
some cultures.
Not everything in the film works. The film’s script contains
numerous instances of clunky, unrealistic dialogue, and a subplot involving
running does not carry the emotional punch the film deserves. Also, the film
can’t seem to make up it mind as to just what a ghost can and cannot do, and
consistency is important in a film such as this one. More importantly, I wonder
whether audience outside of Taiwan
will relate to a male ghost trying to help his mother in the same way as they
would a ghost trying to protect the woman he loves. I must confess that I
rolled my eyes several times during conversations involving how wonderful Ma’s
mother is and how inspirational her stories and explanations are. To me, the
explanations that Ma so dutifully cited were attempts at evading Ma’s rather
important questions about life, love, and sex. However, he quotes them as if
they were pearls of wisdom that came out of the mouth of Confucius himself.
The film is Sui-Di Wang’s sixth. Wang also shares writing
credit on the film, and for about 90 minutes, she keeps it from completely
veering into after-school special melodrama, only to surrender to the impulse
to give everything and every character the happy ending she thinks they deserve.
She then compounds the error by accompanying the ending credits with videos of
the cast dancing to Taiwanese hip-hop out of character. It is a common
technique these days in Taiwanese films, and it works for the most part in
comedies or musicals. Here, it is disruptive and completely robs the ending of
the emotional power it worked so hard to create.
What makes the film truly memorable are two performances:
Ming-shen Ku’s powerful portrayal of Ma’s grieving and angry mother and Jin’s
eye-opening performance of Wang. Ku’s work here provides a view into an all-too
familiar sight on the evening news – that of a grieving parent struggling to
come to terms with his or her loss and the complex emotions it has stirred.
Though Jin struggles at times to convey her character’s complex emotions, she
provides the audience with an inside view of the kind of character films should
explore more often. We come to understand how Wang became who she did, and,
while she is ultimately responsible for her actions, we come to understand all
of the mistakes and unfortunate circumstances that led to that fateful evening
in the park. In fact, I have a feeling that the film could inspire some parents
to re-evaluate their interactions with their children.
Having said that, the film is still somewhat of a mixed bag.
It is inconsistent and contains some truly cringe-inducing dialogue. However,
the film is also frequently involving, emotionally powerful, and ultimately
uplifting. It ultimately works. (on DVD in Region 3)
3 and a half stars
* fantome, ou es-tu?
is in Mandarin with English subtitles. It also goes by the title Ku Ma.
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