2015 ‘念念’ Directed by Sylvia Chang
Mei falls for an underachieving boxer, and begins years of soul searching in the city, where she reunites with her estranged brother under unexpected circumstances. What was remembered and forgotten are lessons that have profound consequences.
Nian Nian
it took a second viewing to reaffirm just how dense and strange this is on a level of execution - the visual motifs weave in and out of each other seemingly unmoored from the (already complicated) narrative; the expected scenes of melodrama go on for far longer than they should, only to taper off and resolve in impressionistic imagery or outright fantasy; images of physical pain, elemental landscape, and dream intrude into the plot and then slip away again.
and who would've thought that one of 2015's best films would reunite the female stars of tsui hark's the missing, and also feature strange sequences of underwater visions?
A mother tells siblings Mei and Nan the story of a mermaid, who left her home to explore the world. However, the mother never ended the story the same and the children never got an explanation why.
This mother would then go on to leave her island home, taking Mei along with her but leaving Nan behind with their father. She fled to Taiwan and lived a new life with a new husband, but one day her mother died and she was on her own.
Overhearing how her father doesn't want anything to do with her, Mei stayed in Taiwan and laments through her art. She finds herself pregnant and in a shaky relationship, and fears that she'll put her…
the most visually affecting film i've seen all year, chang's direction gracefully brandishes this one-of-a-kind feminine gravitas that shifts alongside the emotional pulse of those who live in the now and sometimes in the past. crashing waves of trauma break apart the sanctity of memory; until the freeing, miraculous stillness of sweet innocence carried on from childhood brings forth a sea of new horizons. will probably love this even more as time goes by🦋
A moving, magical story of intergenerational conflict, of memories and the emotions that go along with them. The images, full of natural wonders, practically throb with metaphor and meaning. A rapturous experience.
(Be)longing and rootless in China. Haunting and directed with the precision of underappreciated master.
A very moving, emotionally intelligent, romantic melodrama of a type not often seen anymore, Chang's first directorial effort in seven years looks at difficulties of communication and how relationships come apart. The dreamlike, graceful opening sets the stage and structure - a mother tells her two children a story, one that has stayed with them into adulthood. Chang then switches elliptically between this shared past and their separate presents, using the storytelling mechanism as a link. The girl (Isabella Leong), now a painter in a struggling relationship with a uncommunicative, psychological stunted boxer (Joseph Chang); and the boy (Lawrence Ko), a tour guide on a remote Taiwanese island Lyudao, distanced, inexpressive and lonely. Drawing in broad, emotive strokes, Chang explores…
I just gets better on subsequent viewings. Beautiful, sensitive, poignant, powerful. This film probably won't appeal to those who don't give it the chance to be parsed and absorbed with multiple viewings.
There is a complex interwoven story here, told with beautiful music and imagery. It has affected me deeply. Just yield to it.
Murmur of the Hearts shows that not only a model family can express the concept of family affection. Dad is the boundary of the free sky, Mom is the tenderness that runs through life, and the ocean that takes life to the distance. The obsession with the mother made the children finally "go home". The narration is very Japanese, the rhythm is comfortable like spring water, the emotions are simmering but the sea is surging. In the end, what you get is not the perception of the characters, but the peace of reconciliation with the world, which is the most magical part of the film.
The beautiful fantasy strokes of the film are not at all unacceptable, but give people…
نجوای قلب ها رو میشه با سینمای تسای مینگ لیانگ مقایسه کرد. از بعد تماتیک در نمایش گسست آدم ها و مشکلات ارتباطی و در فرم از حیث صداگذاری و نماهای بدون معرف شباهت هایی دارند اما چانگ برخلاف لیانگ، در جهنم رهامون نمیکنه و روزنه های روشنی نشون میده. روایت حول سه نفر و بین گذشته و آینده حرکت میکنه و تلاش در واکاوی ریشه های کودکی داره. این تایملاین ها به زیبایی به هم کات میخورن و ارتباط پیدا میکنن منتها فیلم در مواقعی در ایده پردازی کم میاره و به کلیشه ها پناه می بره. اگر این موارد دلسرد کننده نبود نجوای قلب ها به راحتی میتونست یکی از فیلمای محبوب سال من بشه. مشتاق شدم بقیه فیلم های این کارگردان/بازیگر رو ببینم
Allusive, reticent, slow; adult children work through the long-ago death of their mother, which is always hidden away behind water imagery and talk of mermaids. The languors and poetics remind me a bit of Wong Kar-Wei but without the focus on romantic longing.
a wave hits the rocks and returns back to the ocean, leaving helpless little fishes on the rocks. and when the next wave comes, angels will come bring the little fishes home.
however, some others would be left behind.
the mermaid met a lost little fish in the vast ocean, and she said to the little fish, "fishy, fishy, you cant find your way back. come and take an adventure with me."
the little fish asks, "where are we going?"
"somewhere far far away."
"where is that far far away place?"
the mermaid says, "i dont know either."
the little fish says, "i am just a little fish, can i go that far?" and the mermaid says, "we have courage.…
Murmur of the Hearts is a reflective, understated family drama depicting how difficult it is to let go of painful childhood memories. It’s a melancholy and wistful film, alternating between past and present and making good use of dreamy flashback scenes and striking visuals. Although the story moves at a glacial pace, the mystery of each character’s memories is unfolded in such a beautifully touching way. The film stars Isabella Leong, who makes her long awaited return to the big screen after a hiatus from acting. It’s great to see her in movies again and I hope she sticks around for good. In the story, she plays an illustrator who keeps getting haunted by visions from the past, particularly those…
