Jay Liu's Thesis Film for the USC MFA, “Anywhere the Wind Blows” won and award for Outstanding Achievement in Producing by First Look, while it also screened at VC Film Fest (Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival) and the Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival.
“Anywhere the Wind Blows” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
From the director's statement: In 2019, protests of millions broke out in Hong Kong, advocating for human rights and against police brutality. In response, the Chinese government enacted a far-reaching, oppressive “National Security Law,” stripping away the freedoms of HongKongers. Since then, up to 500,000 HongKongers have left their home for greener pastures overseas. Though many left voluntarily, some were chased away by their own government's political persecution. While global attention on the Hong Kong situation has dwindled, these political refugees continue to live in precarious situations. They now face challenges familiar to the universal first-generation immigrant experience: loneliness, homesickness, cultural differences, etc. As important as their activist work is, I feel that, through film, I have a unique opportunity to explore something even more untapped – their emotions.
After a rather intense and impressive intro that has a direct connection with the concept of ‘imprisonment', as described above, the short slows down with a scene at the beach accompanied by the protagonist's narration, before it reaches the main narrative, with Alex talking on the phone with his mother while walking on the street in US. Eventually, he reaches a restaurant where another Hong Kongese, Brandon, soon arrives. Through a brief scene, the fact that the two used to be more than friends is hinted, something that becomes more clear through their discussions. The topic of Hong Kong's situation also rises, with Alex not hiding his dissatisfaction when Brandon, who is obviously better off than him, mentions that he is working with the Chinese. Soon though, the topic turns to their relationship once more, with the difference in mentality and way of living becoming rather apparent.
The two then move to a cannabis shop and eventually to Alex's apartment, where they consume some edibles. Soon they are having sex, with the movie presenting another rather impressive scene, where colors, dance music and strobing effects fill the screen, until the evident bliss is interrupted by scenes on the mind of Alex, having to do with the situation and his past in Hong Kong, with the yellow umbrellas and police brutality being indicative. The whole thing even takes an ominous turn after a point with the next scene having Alex waking up. A later scene, in the future, shows a completely different Alex.
Through a rather economical approach, Jay Liu manages to present his two narrative axes, of the Hong Kong fugitive in the US and of a queer relationship quite thoroughly, essentially with nothing being left out. The cinematic elements he implements into this goal are the biggest trait of the film, with the narration, the slightly surrealistic scenes, and most of all, the flashbacks being excellently implemented throughout the movie, with the job done in the editing by Thomas Wang and Jay Liu being top notch. The visual flair in these scenes in particular, is a treat to the eye, with the music video, dream-like approach working excellently, also highlighting Elisabetta Fox Piantoni's job in the cinematography.
Some scenes, however, could have been handled better, with the one in the cannabis shop, with the piano music and the slow motion, emerging as a tad cheesy, and the epic-like style of the dream about the protests in Hong Kong emerging as excessive. The presentation of subtitles in different colors according to the language spoken does not work particularly well either, essentially drawing the viewer away from what is happening on the screen, in an element that was recently used in “Mimang”, although in more organic fashion.
On the other hand, the acting is on a rather high level. The antithetical chemistry of Glen Wong as Alex Ng and Ray Kam as Brandon Ma works excellently. The former highlights his discomfort and somewhat private demeanor convincingly, with the same applying to his transformation in the last part of the movie. The latter shows his apologetic nature, as much as his sure of himself and what he wants mentality, in equally convincing fashion.
Despite some issues here and there, “Anywhere the Wind Blows” is an audiovisually impressive short that manages to present its comments and main themes eloquently. Considering this is a thesis film, it is easy to state that Jay Liu has a bright future ahead of him.
