I have an appetite for independent and foreign films that is rarely satiated by actually going to a theater and seeing them. Since I'm from New York City, I can't claim that the film isn't showing in my city since almost every film shows in New York, so I suppose the reason I don't support these low-budget films by paying for a movie ticket is because I'm cheap. In my defense, I will say that I tend to borrow the DVDs from the New York Public Library when they're available (there can be a long wait, depending on the momentary popularity of the film) and I watch the Sundance Channel, which means that I can watch newly acquired foreign and independent films in the comfort of my own home (and while checking my e-mail). It is through the Sundance Channel that I have seem some great films like "The Lives of Others" and "Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days"; I almost saw "Maria Full of Grace"once, but my mother preferred not to watch a film about drug mules so I had to change the channel.
I haven't seen an indie in some time, and since I'm also too cheap to see a more mainstream movie like "True Grit", I have been making do with fond memories of seeing "The Social Network" and watching whatever movies cable networks choose to show. I didn't think I would see a good arthouse film until I was back in New York, but I found one a few hours ago...on Hulu. Yes, that Hulu, the Hulu that doesn't show every episode of "30 Rock" anymore and whose Movies section is chock full of trailers, Lifetime Movies, and feature films you wouldn't admit to seeing in polite company. The film I saw is called "Children of Invention". It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival (the one dominated by news of "Precious" and "The September Issue"), was released in eight theaters early in 2010, and was released on DVD in August 2010, but if you hurry you won't have to pay a dime to see it.
The film is a portrait of a Chinese-American family suffering in Boston during the Great Recession. It begins with Elaine Cheng and her two children, Raymond and Tina, leaving their home which is in foreclosure. Unlike a lot of films that depict the lives of the working poor, the suffering of this family is not glamorous and each family deals with it in their own way, with reactions ranging from puzzlement, denial, desperation, and perseverance, all in the face of an increasingly deteriorating situation. I don't have much experience with writing movie reviews, but I know enough about them not to give the whole plot away. What I will say is this: the film is driven by the ambition of Elaine who balances the sensible and the desperate with her effort to become a real estate broker while being the perpetual victim of those schemes where you sell vitamins or beauty products after paying a fee. The actress who plays Elaine, Cindy Chueng, gives a portrait that is dramatic and deeply sad because it is so understated, but I have to say that this film belongs to the children, played by Michael Chen and Crystal Chiu. They do such an amazing job of portraying children who are likeable but not overly precocious. They present real children who would respond to their situation with the right measure of innocence, resourcefulness, and sadness. Raymond and Tina are not children you are asked to feel sorry for or cheer on, they are children you are asked to simply observe, especially after they find their mother gone, but you can't help but hope that Raymond's inventions will yield the money and comfort he needs and that Tina will be able to return to the home she yearns for. Just because Raymond and Tina are used to being deprived doesn't mean the viewer will want to see it continue, but like with "The Wire", the viewer can't change how life unfolds despite a sincere desire to do so.
And that begs the question: Does the suffering continue? Is that even the right question? The question implies that there could be a happy ending, but this film is such an accurate and timely portrayal of the working poor that it could be a documentary, and the working poor are still suffering even though the recession is officially over. Doesn't their suffering continue?
Maybe the better question then is: Is the family happy at the end? I don't think I would be spoiling anything if I say they don't get there house back, which I think is appropriate for the subject matter. The films I like most are those that present a snapshot of a larger, more complicated life, with all it's moments of sadness, joy, and everything in between. The most realistic films, especially those that deal with poverty, are not films that resolve the problem by the time the credits roll. We know that's not how life works and I personally don't see a film to pretend that life's problems don't exist; I see it more to examine the struggles of life through another prism. I feel the viewer should be content with a film that doesn't end with any dramatic events, good or bad, but ends in such a way that the viewer can use their own imagination to envision where the characters will ultimately end up. When I think of a film that did that well, that presented a good beginning to a longer story that continues after you've left the theater or turned the channel, I think of Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men". I will now also think of Tze Chun's "Children of Invention".
To read a review, go to: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/movies/12children.html?ref=arts
To see the film, go to: http://www.hulu.com/watch/202287/children-of-invention
Film website: http://childrenofinvention.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment