When the puff is transferred into the sighs of the lovers, when the obscene language shows us different aspects of the penetrating tender sentiment, “Love in a Puff” would be essentially packed as a romantic and pathetic love story which even makes you cry. However, and luckily, the director Pang Ho Cheung does not aim at let the audience’s face bathed in tears, but shapes the cruel fact into the wonderful rhyme. Finally, he leads all of the audience fall in the love with a middle-aged woman and a kidult.
If just listen to the plot of this story, it may be a little bit resentful actually, as one of the roles in this film describes, the love between the leading roles is such as “a coquette meets a patron of brothels” (姣婆遇着脂粉客), mainly tells about a middle-aged woman meets a kidult whom just breaks up, they are not sure if they love each other, and they also feel ambiguous about love. Furthermore, this love story develops in “a society with rapid steps”, and the screenwriter arranges only seven days in the script to narrate the leading roles how to know each other, how to flirt, how to fall in love, and then how to be intermingled with joy and sorrow, etc.
To someone whom is also with a rapid step, it would be very reality and practical, but it proceeds in opposite direction to the traditional and classic love style. For the classic style, the lovers usually spend lots of time to understand each other and fall in love long time later, but this story just happens in one week. Moreover, the concept of this movie is linked with smoking and full of foul language, which may make the public feel negative and unhealthy. Nevertheless, under the discussion of swearing off tobacco, Director Pang humors the government wisely: should the smokers give up smoking because of the tobacco tax, or they should consider it with their health? Comparing with the love, should the lovers fall in love because of lonely, or they should fall in love because of their heart feeling?
For the shooting ways, the director obviously searches the breakthrough. As his past productions, he is “playing” the creation. Without the interlaced timeline, or without the special effects, but only adding some interviews which are shot as the documentary films, it strengthens the reality through the unreal interviews, and shows some objective impressions of love story through some subjective angles. There is no special mention of the obscure competition between the leading lovers, but the wisdom of maintain the love is shown.
What the feeling produced by this movie is fresh and alive, not the habitual commercialization. Comparing with Director Pang’s past productions, he does not set a twist at the end, but he tells the position of “sexual” over a love affair in the last scene: being a woman, she will be touch because the man “no needs to do everything in a second”. On the other hand, how many men would be without sex if he is “able to have sex”?
Kathy, I like your following observation and agree to your critical thinking:
ReplyDelete"[S]hould the smokers give up smoking because of the tobacco tax, or they should consider it with their health? Comparing with the love, should the lovers fall in love because of lonely, or they should fall in love because of their heart feeling?"
You said Director Pang makes use of smoking as the metaphor of love. That is what I hadn't thought of when I was watching the film. In Hong Kong (or other rapidly developed cities), people are used to seek their partners due to lonliness. Some may want to have a partner since every friend around them has got one. Besides, as what you mentioned, people are used to find their love in a very period like eating instant food. Yes, I noticed that my friends who are single do hunger for "love", and I don't agree with them...
By the way, you said, 'how many men would be without sex if he is “able to have sex”?'Wow! I'm not quite sure. But I think it is not only about men. I think there is same case as the women as well. Lol, can I ask a similar question, 'how many women would be without sex if she is "able to have sex"?' Of course, I mean when she comes across the one who gives her love feeling.
Kathy, I like your following observation and agree to your critical thinking:
ReplyDelete"[S]hould the smokers give up smoking because of the tobacco tax, or they should consider it with their health? Comparing with the love, should the lovers fall in love because of lonely, or they should fall in love because of their heart feeling?"
You said Director Pang makes use of smoking as the metaphor of love. That is what I hadn't thought of when I was watching the film. In Hong Kong (or other rapidly developed cities), people are used to seek their partners due to lonliness. Some may want to have a partner since every friend around them has got one. Besides, as what you mentioned, people are used to find their love in a very short period like eating instant food. Yes, I noticed that my friends who are single do hunger for "love", and I don't agree with them...
By the way, you said, 'how many men would be without sex if he is “able to have sex”?'Wow! I'm not quite sure. But I think it is not only about men. I think there is same case as the women as well. Lol, can I ask a similar question, 'how many women would be without sex if she is "able to have sex"?' Of course, I mean when she comes across the one who gives her love feeling.
Though you are using the same case as Florence, your approach is very different. The examination of gender/love relations depicted in the movie is very interesting and the compression of time (story happens within a week) has some implications on the pace of Hong Kong people. You may analyze more on the images of “middle-aged woman” and “kidult” (as you mentioned in the first paragraph), which are two major themes of the story I believe.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the last scene, it points out two different “framework” of men and women in facing the dilemma between “pure love” and “love preoccupied with sex”. But are men and women so “typical” and mutually exclusive in the conception of love/sex? Besides gender, how do other factors like class, education, personal experience play a role in constructing such framework or ideology? Florence’s question is meaningful, but also difficult to deal with. This movie doesn’t provide a definite answer too, right?