GeGe

This is a beautifully crafted film and very accomplished first feature from Yan-Yan Mak. The film has a contemplative pace and little dialogue, which unfortunately seemed to make some of the audience a bit restless. However, the editing shows great skill as much of the film's narrative is told through carefully considered scenes and well composed shots rather than the relatively minimal dialogue.

The viewer is told nothing about the main subject of the film, Ah Ming's older brother, who disappeared some years before from his home in Hong Kong. The last correspondence Ah Ming received was a battered photograph sent from a small rural town in Qinghai Province. Despite this simple narrative there is an abundance of ideas in this film, played out through the journey Ah Ming makes to find his brother and the touching relationships he forms along the way. The acting is understated, but consistent. The influence of Wong Kar Wai's style of direction is apparent - less is more.

As a fan of Asian cinema I also found the remote backdrop and portrayal of the local people in this film fascinating. When the credits rolled it was great to see that everyone featured got a thank you.

Yan Yan Mak is quoted as saying "The filming made me realize I could get close to other people and myself in ways I had not thought of before". I think this experience has shaped GeGe and is apparent throughout the film.

In addition there was a great soundtrack and some excellent cinematography.

I look forward to her next feature.

The story, such as it is, is of a pair of brothers from Hong Kong. The older brother disappeared three years ago while traveling in Mainland China. The younger brother goes to find him in the village from which he last sent a postcard.

If I hadn't taken a class in recent Chinese cinema, this film would likely have been rated a little lower, but this background helped me look for symbolism. The woman in the film obviously represented Mainland China, because she was from there, was a woman (a fairly typical symbol for Mainland China), and was always wearing red. The younger brother presumably represented Hong Kong. It occurred to me that the older brother disappeared close to the time (1997) when Hong Kong was returned to Mainland Chinese rule, which probably means something.

But despite these detailed clues, I wasn't sure what the film's overall message was supposed to be, and there was little else to engage me. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival) on 2/27/2002.