6ixtynin9
Saw 6ixtynin9 last night at the Four Star's 2005 Spring Asian Movie series.
I liked Last Life in the Universe by the same director, evidently 69 is the movie he made directly before that one.
I'm ambivalent about this movie. It wasn't a flat out dark comedy, although some parts were very funny. It's a fascinating character study. The main character Tum is played straight up, not at all tongue in cheek. She's alone, quiet, moral, human, pragmatic.
The plot teeters right on the edge of believability.Each event makes sense, but after a while you start to realize that it is all a touch improbable, and make the choice to believe it anyway.
The director skillfully sketches the minor characters, but because of the complexity of internal conflict that Tum is making, they seem a bit flat by comparison. However, characters like the nosy downstairs neighbor, who initially seemed to be just there for comic relief, are cleverly woven into the story.
At first I wanted to suggest that the director connect the scenes with music to make the plot flow better. But the movie doesn't tell us whether to laugh or cry. One moment I'd be laughing, another I'd tense up in anticipation of violence or danger. No laugh track or music to tell me how to feel. I was forced to decide how to react.
The movie kept me switching shoes, from my place as an audience member where I could laugh and analyze, to being in Tum's position, and trying to make sense of what was going on, and how much of it she was responsible for.
In the end, we are left in the just Tum, and her choices.
I was going to give this movie 2.5 stars, but after writing about it, it gets 3 out of 4 stars.