The short film program at the Rotterdam International Film Festival also featured the latest work by Simon Liu. Liu grew up in both Hong Kong and the UK, and in his works he is often interested in people in their urban environment.
Happy Valley is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
“Happy Valley” is a visually powerful experimental film that takes the viewer on a breathless journey through Hong Kong. At night, the camera follows the hustle and bustle of people. Sometimes you see them from behind, sometimes you only see their legs. Most of the time they appear only passingly. It is not about a particular person. It's rather, a mood that the film aims to capture.
Liu shows a lively city where people are restless. His gaze falls on the colourful muddle. Clothes are presented in a shop window, a man is getting his hair cut at the corner, and cars are waiting at traffic lights. Cold colours dominate the pictures. Blue and a bright yellow, as if from a flashlight, stretch across the screen. Similar to a kaleidoscope, “Happy Valley” is composed of a multitude of fragments.
The fast editing with which Liu dynamizes his arc of images gives the film the character of a music video. Music indeed plays a decisive role in this work. It draws the viewer under its spell. It consists of flute sounds mixed with snatches of conversation. The sounds of the city are laid over the images like a carpet and unfold an extremely suggestive effect.
“Happy Valley” gives an impression of Hong Kong as a city in constant motion. Although it arouses curiosity, it also has a somewhat threatening side. For Simon Liu, Hong Kong is a rush, it seems.
