THE BEST OF TIMES (a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
THE BEST OF TIMES begins as a very realistic, even Dogme 95, sort of film. We follow the Ah family living in the suburbs of Taipei through their daily grind. The film takes on a super-realistic style. It looks more like the characters were caught on "Candid Camera." However, as the film progresses there is more style in the filmmaking. We are introduced to two best friends, Wei (played by Wing Fan) and Jie (Gao Meng-jie). Each is nineteen years old and facing the responsibilities of adults. Eventually the film moves from random moments taken from life to an actual plot with some action and even some suspense. Wei is a parking valet. An opportunity comes his way to be a debt collector for a local criminal boss. To share his good fortune he arranges for Jie to join him in his job. The two boys are still mostly children, but they are playing in adult games. Jie, the less mature of the two, gets the two into very serious trouble. At some point the film moves into the world of fantasy, though at just what point is open to the viewer's interpretation. There are some very harrowing scenes along the way with violence that may bother some viewers. This is not an uplifting film, in spite of the title and viewers should expect to be along for a bumpy and frequently unpleasant ride.
This is director Chang Tso-chi's fourth film. As a rather odd touch, the music of this film is done in a Mexican style, perhaps to underscore the unreality of the proceedings. As basically a crime drama, this should be an engaging film, but somehow it just failed to draw me into the story or the characters. Even the fantasy elements cannot raise the downbeat and off-putting tone of THE BEST OF TIMES. I rate THE BEST OF TIMES a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper mleeper@optonline.net Copyright 2002 Mark R. Leeper
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