Wu

Drawn in by an intriguing trailer, this is a slow-burning and atmospheric work about a twenty-something trying to make sense of himself following a severe bout of amnesia. The best film-makers manage to create trailers that give you a flavour of their work whilst not giving too much away – this isn't one of them. The film felt like an extended version of the trailer, with limited additional exposition, and a narrative arc largely ditched in favour of a mood-piece laden with long, languid shots. But on that level, it works very effectively.

Rather like the protagonist, the viewer is dropped into the story without knowing what has lead to his amnesiac condition. Indeed, we never find out, and the film ends even more abruptly than it begins. We follow Wai as he delicately tries to pick up the strands of his life, understand the person he was before, and right past wrongs in the hope of regaining a foothold. It's clearly a tough journey, and the main character has well and truly nailed the sense of being lost and adrift in his own head. 6/10

There are so many wonderful things about this film that it also is a bit frustrating that Director Kit Hui decided to do the editing herself. As a filmmaker, I always think it is a big mistake for a director to edit their own work because they are married to what they filmed and fresh eyes are so important during editing not only for a different perspective, but because a director often cannot edit sufficiently to keep the film keep moving forward. They don't wanna lose footage...even if it is better lost. Such is the case with Fog where the film drags time and again..an engaging moment and then re-engage the audience only to drag again.

Now on to the finer things...Terence Yin's performance is so measured and reserved that he allows the emotions of what is happening to envelop you instead of banging you over the head with "this is how I feel." The other beautiful thing that Kit has done is provided a slice of his life dealing with the unknown affects amnesia brings. His accident and the reasons for his amnesia are not relevant in the film and the conclusion is as his life will always be...a never ending journey of rediscovering who he was, is and will be. The ending is masterful.