Christopher Doyle looks at three generations of Hong Kong men, women, and children in trilogy
HONG KONG TRILOGY: PRESCHOOLED, PREOCCUPIED, PREPOSTEROUS (Christopher Doyle, 2015)
Metrograph
7 Ludlow St. between Canal & Hester Sts.
Opens Friday, September 22
212-660-0312
metrograph.com
Master cinematographer Christopher Doyle, who has shot such beautiful films as Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love and Ashes of Time, Chen Kaige’s Temptress Moon, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Last Life in the Universe, and Zhang Yimou’s Hero, once again displays his unique visual flair in Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled, Preoccupied, Preposterous, the third full-length work he has directed, after 1999’s Away with Words and 2008’s Izolator. The documentary, which he also photographed and contains some confusing fiction elements, is divided into three sections that examine the hopes and dreams of three generations of people living in Hong Kong, the Australia-born Doyle’s adopted hometown. The majority of the film, which was helped by a Kickstarter campaign that raised $125,000, features long shots of people, streets, buildings, and the waterfront in Hong Kong, with voice-over narration from the men, women, and children shown onscreen, who were interviewed separately. But the film suffers drastically whenever Doyle turns away from that method and has live dialogue and interaction, breaking the engaging premise he begins with. In the first section, “Preschooled,” we meet Pet Shop Boy, who chills with flamingos in a zoo; Ching Man, aka Red Cap Girl, who passes out religious pamphlets about multiple gods of numerous religions while refusing to be tempted by the Devil; Teacher Selene, who is getting tired of waiting around for Beat Box; Vodka Wong, who gets bullied until he fights back and appears to prefer his maid, Yan Yan, to his mother; and Egg Tart Angel, who hands out free egg custard tarts to anyone who looks sad and lonely.
Christopher Doyle on the set of Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled, Preoccupied, Preposterous
The second part, “Preoccupied,” follows the 2014 Occupy movement in Hong Kong, focusing on the tent city known as Camp Democracy, where the term “Umbrella Movement” defined their use of umbrellas against tear gas and pepper spray. “Everything is predestined in life. A lot of things are decided when you’re born,” says Feng Shui Master Thierry, “but maybe the different people you meet and the different things you do will change the way fate manifests itself.” Architectural conservationist Shandong Zhang, who is always drawing, adds, “I think what makes a building or a space beautiful are its people.” The movement is so well organized that the tent city has its own mail system and organic farm to go with its Lennon Wall, where optimistic messages are posted inspired by John Lennon’s “Imagine.” And the final chapter, “Preposterous,” deals with a party tram where senior citizens meet for speed dating. When, in voiceover, they talk about their past relationships and discuss what they’re looking for now, the section is intriguing, but when the action becomes live, things fall apart, especially when the scene is clearly staged. Some characters show up in more than one part, which can be charming, like when it’s Red Cap Girl and Shandong Zhang, and not so charming, like when it’s Beat Box and Teacher Kevin. Doyle is attempting to highlight and preserve Hong Kong culture and heritage, particularly since the changes that have occurred since the 1997 reunification, but as the film goes on, it devolves into treacly sentimentality, political propaganda, and downright silliness (whenever the police arrive). Hong Kong Trilogy is a gorgeous film to watch, but the inconsistent narrative style ultimately lets it down.