Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Gwei Lun-Mei, Yo Yang, Michael Chang, Lee-Zen Lee
Intro:
... keeps you guessing, makes you laugh and, ultimately, moves you.
This curious Taiwanese film starts off looking like it’s going to be deliciously dark and funny – and it is. But the black comedy is just a wrapper. Underneath, there’s a sense of melancholy and regret as it explores a problematic marriage.
Zi-Han (Yo Yang) is lying in a hospital bed. His lower leg is septic. The brusque Dr Gao tells Zi-Han’s wife that the leg needs to be amputated. A lively classical soundtrack adds a touch of irony.
But things go terribly wrong. Zi-Han not only loses his leg – he loses his life. And then the leg itself is lost…
The newly widowed Yu-Ying (Gwei Lun-Mei) is determined to reunite the leg with Zi-Han’s body, so he can be cremated whole, according to custom. And so begins not one, but two tales – Yu-Ying’s search for her husband’s leg, plus the flashbacked history of the pair’s relationship, as seen through Zi-Han’s eyes. So much happens in this fast-paced and unpredictable gem, with one incident unfolding into the next to tell the whole sorry story of just how Zi-Han wound up in hospital.
Zi-Han is handsome, self-assured … and flawed. He falls in love with the graceful ballroom dancer Yu-Ying and they become a couple, both on and off the dance floor. His story is one of poor decisions that have serious repercussions and cause great pain to his wife. Her story is one of love and commitment, as she navigates a comically Kafkaesque bureaucratic hospital system to find the lost leg. It’s a unique story that’s brilliantly told, involving gambling, running, hiding, dancing and much more.
The performances are all stellar, with much humour coming from an excellent and quirky supporting cast. Gwei Lun-Mei is exceptional as the grieving widow. She is the heart of the piece and what she goes through to find the leg is a bone fide journey.
As oddball as it is, its truths and observations about love and relationships are universal. Novelist Chang Yao-Sheng, who also co-wrote A Leg, makes an assured directorial debut. He keeps you guessing, makes you laugh and, ultimately, moves you.
