AKA: First Page Taipei.
Director: Arvin Chen.
Language: Min-Nan|Mandarin.
Rating: FULL DAMN MARKS!!!
After a spree of miserable movies, I finally stumbled upon this utterly sweet fare which blends a good portion of crime, romance and comedy in equal measure. The characters, the execution and the vibrancy of this Taiwanese product had me spellbound for its 80-odd minutes running length; a feat that very rare movies have managed to achieve in recent times.
The protagonist, Kai (Jack Yao) is a teenager in love and bidding his love adieu in the movie’s opening scene. His girlfriend is leaving for Paris, and Kai is nothing short of feeling shattered. Unable to get his head around anything, Kai gets through his day helping out his parents with their restaurant, and then frequenting a bookstore, flipping through any edition of “teach yourself French” literature, so that he could converse with his love on the phone, on the same language terms as she is currently enveloped in. Being a regular at the bookstore, Kai doesn’t fail to attract one unassuming, sweet, teenage salesgirl called Susie (Amber Kuo), employed at the bookstore. Susie doesn’t miss a breath in getting smitten by the adorable Kai, unaware that he’s already involved. She tries hard to strike up a conversation, but Kai isn’t remotely interested, and focuses all his attention on learning the new language. She even extends a hand of courtesy by getting an itinerary for a local language center, where Kai could use some help, but she drops the idea soon when she finally learns that he’s already taken. Kai gets through his days of misery and desperation in the same fashion as the previous day, all the time, carrying the hope of reuniting with his love. But when his girlfriend breaks up with him, Kai crumbles and the whole world seems to close in on him. On a whim, he decides to fly to Paris, and surprise his love and maybe, even win her back. Since he hails from a modest family, barely making their ends meet, money is going to be a huge obstacle for Kai.
In order to realize his capricious dream, Kai approaches a certain Brother Bao (Frankie Kao), who owns a real estate company, and has couple of his fingers dipped in some shady dealings as well. Helping Bao with his real estate front is his nephew Hong (Lawrence Ko), a poker-faced, bumbling idiot, who wants a shot at the bigger piece of the pie, and wants to prove his mettle to his uncle. He, with the help of his equally goofy partners-in-crime, all cloaked in gaudy orange suits, is on the lookout for a perfect score, to serve as a testament of his competency at picking up the reins once his uncle retires. Brother Bao loans Kai some money to make it comfortably to Paris, but being a businessman that he is, he wants a small favour of him at the same time. He wants Kai to take a valuable package to Paris, which will be relayed to him by one of Bao’s men the night before Kai’s flight takes off. It’s obvious that this simple plan runs into some unintended hurdles, one of which is invented by Hong who, after seeing an opportunity to showcase his talents, decides to handle the matter in his own idiosyncratic way. Add to it a couple of cops who smell something foul, and are just around the corner when the plan finally starts to materialise, landing the whole movie into a crazy chase spanned across one night, through dingy alleyways, makeshift establishments, neon-lit markets, and almost half the city. The fun never stops, and the movie never ceases to amaze you with its simplicity and relentless charm.
The above muddle gives enough space for some subplots to foster. One of them is the philanderer cop with a spurned lover, and the other is that of Kai’s friend Gao, who’s enamored by his convenience store co-worker Peach, but lacks the courage to confess it to her. All these side stories are seamlessly stitched to the mainframe of the movie, and plays out incredibly cohesively, without coming across as an unwarranted diversion, or an excuse to introduce another facet to the whole storyline. With such a cute, young and spirited cast, it’s no doubt that the movie feels very fresh on the performance front, with its two leads shining brightly throughout. Jack Yao as the heartbroken, lovelorn Kai, with a plan in tow and determination to make it through the fix he’s found himself in, does more than a decent job in fleshing his character with utmost sincerity. Amber Kuo as the lonely, yet, superhumanly adorable Susie, brings a smile on your face in every scene she appears in, and knows her way around certain tricky acting situations, too. It’s sheer delight to watch her, even if her acting is anything but groundbreaking. One can cut her some slack, on account of this being her first venture, and I’m certain that she’ll improve by leaps and bounds as she progresses.
Apart from the adorable principal characters, Lawrence Ko as the wannabe hotshot Hong is easily the guy who steals the show, with his whacky followers falling in, in close second. The scenes laced with his straight-faced efforts at being and sounding graver than he actually is, cracked me up every time. One scene in particular, where he calls Kai and lays down a deal to trade his friend Gao in exchange for the package, was nothing short of funny. Typical of any ransom speech, Hong delivers the threat of bumping off Kai’s friend, if the former fails to follow his instruction, and, yet, at the same time, Hong’s seen gesturing Gao that he’s just bluffing, consoling him that he has no intentions of carrying out such a threat. Another scene is where Hong is apprehended, and he’s so excited that he starts to interrogate the cop if they’re going in a police van, and if he can ride in front, and seems very desperate to get on with the whole process and is demanding his captors to take him to the station ASAP. It’s subtle, yet hilarious in its own peculiar way. Such deft scenes and a whole lot of other sweet ones overrun this modest and saccharine movie, where you know the fate of almost every character, the plot and ultimately, how the whole movie will wrap up.
The movie never promises you to knock your socks off with its twists and turns, because there isn’t any need for such gimmicks. The director knows that he’s got a simple, yet, a very refreshing story on his hand, and despite being a newcomer, he handles every part of the script so skillfully. He never seemed self-conceited in executing the scenes, never tried too hard to bring out the pleasing disposition of the characters and the story arc, never used the overbearing clichés to let you know that it’s a sweet romantic comedy, and never ever did he falter in the pacing and piecing the whole ensemble with such mastery. With a semblance of multiple layers to deal with, it was surprising to see the director canvas all of it with an incredibly distinct tone and elegance, unlike many other seasoned filmmakers who make a mess of such interweaving tales most of the time. The movie had eloquent editing, and a mellifluous concoction of Jazz and Blues for its background score. The soothing music made the emotions so ostensible and palpable, that you could almost taste it in your mouth. Add to it the lively, talented cast and the articulate direction, this movie is as gratifying as they come. I will hold back no praises and go out with two thumbs up, and a wholehearted recommendation for such a delightful tale of love amidst a slew of misunderstanding, over-the-top ambition, and the boneheads out to realize that very ambition.
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