Have a Nice Day

A very strange animated movie ... one that you may think you might have seen as an live action movie. But this thriller about greed (for money as you can guess or just the will to survive, as some may call it), is really well made. While it may take a second (or two) to get yourself into the mood of this movie and its many characters and figure out who is who and what their ultimate goal is (although very similar if boiled down), you will be more than entertained with this, no matter if you watch it alone or with a crowd.

I watched it at a film festival, but since it was the midnight screening there weren't that many people. And it doesn't really contain that many "omg" moments, although it does have quite a few outrageous things in it. So be prepared for this, because this was not made for kids (I do hope you don't show it to little children before you check the rating or the reviews) ...

It might well be the soundtrack from the Shanghai Restoration Project that is most notable about this gangster feature. Otherwise, it's all a rather poorly put together animation that follows the story of a suitcase with ¥1 million in it that's been pinched from a boss who is maybe just a bit past his sell buy date. Just to reiterate that point, he puts it's retrieval into the hands of an hit man who has gone a bit from ninja to nanny as he tries to track down the bloke whom we know, pretty much all along, has the cash and hopes to make to to his struggling girlfriend. What are the chances of him getting out alive? Well actually that's not really much of a question - the whole drama sort of meanders along with a degree of inevitability to it that rather draws (unwelcome) attention to the very linear style of the animation. Many of the characters remind me of those rub-on transfers I used to get as a kid. Very two dimensional and rarely in proportion to their contemporaries or their surroundings - especially if there's movement or changes in pace, light/shade going on. It relies on the dismal surroundings of their dilapidated environment and the weather to create much of it's sense of menace and the dialogue does little to put any meat on the bones of their characterisations. Perhaps it's meant to be an allegorical indictment of communist China - a cityscape that, like everything else here, has seen better days? Possibly, but as a crime thriller it's quite literally as flat as a pancake.

Greetings again from the darkness. One need only read the credits to understand that this is a personal project of Liu Jian. It's kind of comical to see his name come up as writer, director, illustrator, producer, and editor. He even wrote at least one of the songs featured in the film! An animated film from China that is clearly influenced by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and some modern day madcap caper films offers a nice respite from the typical January releases that hit the theatre.

Jian's film is a crime thriller with socioeconomic subtext that hovers over each scene. An extended opening credits sequence provides the lay of the land (in this case, city) for the upcoming story. There is very little build up to the crime that ignites the cluster that follows. Xiao Zhang steals a bag filled with one million yuan. The bag belongs to "Uncle Liu", a feared crime lord and gangster who sends his trusted and ruthless hitman "Skinny" to retrieve his money.

The old adage, "follow the money", comes into play here. Following the money is not as simple as it sounds, as these aren't brilliant criminal minds at work here. In addition to Tarantino, thoughts of the Coen Brothers came to mind, as did the Scorsese gem AFTER HOURS. Xiao Zhang has no heroic or altruistic motives. He simply wants to pay for a re-do of his fiancé's botched plastic surgery. The zaniness around the money involves many colorful participants, each who have their own designs for the bag.

A couple of odd musical interludes involve Shangri-La and some ocean waves, and there is a God vs. Buddha debate that reminds of the infamous Mighty Mouse vs Superman argument in STAND BY ME. The film played well at festivals and at 77 minutes, it's a briskly-paced chase movie that might have benefitted from a bit more humor.

A neo-noir animated take on a mob film, following a big bag of money as it moves from one person to the next, suspiciously. At once an absurdist escape and a biting commentary on consumer culture, the movie will captivate big audiences with its homage to films like "The Godfather," "Blade Runner" and the works of Tarantino. The characters are all fascinating in their oddities, and the animation style captures the mood in even the smallest details— like a dog limping in the background or a neon sign flickering on the street. Watch it for the violence, watch it for the dry humor, but definitely watch it because the visual style is artistic, emotional and insanely brilliant.

This is an experimental piece of animation, so that pacing and feeling is different from a mainstream movie. But at the same time, the art is surprisingly compelling and beautiful to look at. The commentary on Chinese society is also biting.