Mr. Cinema (aka Call me Left)

Uneven pacing, unnecessary plotlines, and questionable integrality; but guess what, it’s my favorite film of 07.

Don’t let the English title fool you; this movie is not about movies, rather it is about a 40 years history of Hong Kong centered around a deprived family who lived on the rooftop of a poor neighborhood. The family consists of a Leftist father (Anthony Wong), a hardworking and enabling mother (Teresa Mo) and their wild and lowly educated son (Ronald Cheung). Anthony Wong is a father and husband who always put his country and countrymen first and this resulted in his slight neglectance of his family. However, his faith toward China never falters and he even sacrifices his own dreams and ambitions for the sake of others. Teresa on the other hand is a much more realistic person and persists in matters such as getting a new place to leave when all their neighbors have move out to better places. Ronald plays a highly emotional son who was too under-educated to get a decent job in the real world and resorts to quick money schemes that never quite work out. But after a series of tragic events, the characters finally realize what is important in life and at the end of the movie, reconnect with the things that matters most.

It was such a disappointment for me to know that Anthony Wong was not even nominated for a single award at the Hong Kong Films Awards. The three nominations it did receive were for best supporting actor and actress for Ronald Cheung and Teresa Mo which were rightfully so, and a best song nomination performed by Ronald Cheung. I really wished Anthony Wong was at least nominated because his performance as a stubborn but thoughtful father was near flawless. His native Chinese accent was eerily realistic and his acting was beyond good. In fact, he should’ve won the damn thing. Jet Li only won it cause Warlords was overhyped and everyone felt that “it was his time”. There were moments during the movie were I actually felt honest and true sadness, completely forgetting that this was a movie and that they are merely actors acting.

Even with all my praises, the story is not well paced with events that jump too often with unnecessary information. Also, the film is more or less, a celebrated look in the last ten years of Hong Kong after the take-over from China. The movie made the Hong Kong people look like extremely hardworking citizens, but I really don’t have much to criticize on that. Some events like the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 was strangely left out probably because it was a difficult topic to cover and doesn’t mesh well with the intent of the film. But it doesn’t matter, because the movie is very touching and affectionate.

I think the most crucial element about films is how it makes you feel, and I think this is a great example of this. You can have all the special effects, all the explosions, and all the star power but if a film doesn’t leave an impression, it’s really not that good. This movie seriously made me think about a lot of things and it left a solid stamp. On the whole, watching this film was a very rewarding and unforgettable experience.

Year: 2007
Director: Samson Chiu Leung-Chun

8.8/10