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A Lovely Experimental Cinematic Attempt
In my opinion, this movie draws heavily on Wong Kar Wai's classic film "Chungking Express," particularly the love story between the two characters played by Leung Chiu Wei and Faye Wong.
For me, this one is a kind of conceptual homage and a loose reinterpretation of what the story of Faye and Cop663 (from Chungking Express) could have been.
Zhu Yi Long's performance was interesting. It was indeed good and clearly reflected his own style, without trying to "imitate" Leung Chiu Wai.
However, I found it lacking in realism. His character was supposed to be "numb," but I found him more airhead like ... He clearly carried the movie on his shoulders, the intensity of his presence was lovely to watch.
Faye Wong's energy and her portrayal of her character were too iconic to be simply imitated.
Qiu Tian lacked originality, I felt she was simply trying to copy Faye Wong's free spirit, but in a rather superficial way. Her acting wasn't mediocre, just disappointing..
The direction was very creative, a little too far-fetched in a non-artistic sense, rather in a nerdy intellectual science fiction driven way, which means that the seriousness of the film from a purely artistic point of view dissipates very quickly, giving way to a more amateurish tone and visual...
The story was interesting, quite inspiring actually. I really liked the themes of it : alienation, mental illness, traumas, escapism, critic of ultra capitalism, connection, freedom, identity etc.
"Neither of us liked the scripts we were given.
But we just escaped them in different ways.
I chose to be numb. She chose to pretend."
Some of the dialogue was really deep, it's a shame that this depth wasn't always well executed, especially in the choice of scenes presented.
The chemistry was charming, lacking depth and intensity, but still very enjoyable.
Overall, the film's style seemed too "experimental" while tackling very serious themes, which isn't bad in itself, but not my taste. The film could have demonstrated more subtlety, nuance, authenticity, and depth in an artistic way.
I had a good time watching it, overall, for me, "Land Of Broken Lands" was more of a lovely experimental cinematic attempt (Indie vibes) with potential than a real serious film that added real impact and value.
For me, this one is a kind of conceptual homage and a loose reinterpretation of what the story of Faye and Cop663 (from Chungking Express) could have been.
Zhu Yi Long's performance was interesting. It was indeed good and clearly reflected his own style, without trying to "imitate" Leung Chiu Wai.
However, I found it lacking in realism. His character was supposed to be "numb," but I found him more airhead like ... He clearly carried the movie on his shoulders, the intensity of his presence was lovely to watch.
Faye Wong's energy and her portrayal of her character were too iconic to be simply imitated.
Qiu Tian lacked originality, I felt she was simply trying to copy Faye Wong's free spirit, but in a rather superficial way. Her acting wasn't mediocre, just disappointing..
The direction was very creative, a little too far-fetched in a non-artistic sense, rather in a nerdy intellectual science fiction driven way, which means that the seriousness of the film from a purely artistic point of view dissipates very quickly, giving way to a more amateurish tone and visual...
The story was interesting, quite inspiring actually. I really liked the themes of it : alienation, mental illness, traumas, escapism, critic of ultra capitalism, connection, freedom, identity etc.
"Neither of us liked the scripts we were given.
But we just escaped them in different ways.
I chose to be numb. She chose to pretend."
Some of the dialogue was really deep, it's a shame that this depth wasn't always well executed, especially in the choice of scenes presented.
The chemistry was charming, lacking depth and intensity, but still very enjoyable.
Overall, the film's style seemed too "experimental" while tackling very serious themes, which isn't bad in itself, but not my taste. The film could have demonstrated more subtlety, nuance, authenticity, and depth in an artistic way.
I had a good time watching it, overall, for me, "Land Of Broken Lands" was more of a lovely experimental cinematic attempt (Indie vibes) with potential than a real serious film that added real impact and value.
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