The meta trend of movies about movies has been quite intent during the latest years, with a number of productions of quality coming from Asia. “Money Has Four Legs” continues the trend in the most entertaining way, placing the concept in Myanmar in 2020, just after the long military dictatorship.
Money Has Four Legs is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
Wai Bhone, a young film director, is funded to shoot a revised bolder version of a classic local film, but all he finds in his way are obstacles. The censorship board demands a number of changes to the script, essentially sending out a no sex, no alcohol, no cursing message. His actors are never on time and seem more eager to do anything else other than focusing on the movie. His alcoholic brother-in-law breaks the camera, which brings the wrath of the producer upon Wai Bhone. Furthermore, his rent is going up, his debt is increasing, and his wife is breathing down his neck for the lack of money, as they also have to take care of their young daughter. As time passes, the director finds himself in a path with no way out, to the point that he starts pondering robbing a bank, in the middle of a bank run in the country.
Maung Sun directs a film that succeeds in being both funny and quite pointy in its comments about the local movie industry and the social/financial situation of the country at the time, which, unfortunately, has changed for the worse since the military coup in February 2021, after which elected leaders and members of the civil society, including film directors, have been locked up while tens of protestors have died in protests. Nevertheless, the image of the local indie industry Sun paints, can only be described as tragicomic. The censorship board allows very little creative freedom, the producer is a despicable womanizer who only cares about money and spending time with the actresses of the films he is funding, and the actors are spoiled. Essentially, everyone and everything seems to be there just to put more obstacles in Wai Bhone’s way, whose despair becomes palpable as the behavior of the people around him make his situation constantly worse.
At the same time, Maung Sun makes a number of negative comments about the corruption of the banks, the lack of money the country suffers from, alcoholism, and the lack of any kind of help from the state towards the poor.
Both of the aforementioned elements are presented through an amalgam of comedy and fairy tale, with the last part of the movie intensifying the second aspect even more. However, his comments come across rather eloquently, while his approach ensures that the movie remains fun and entertaining from beginning to end, despite the slight hyperbole that occasionally appears in the narrative.
At the same time, the mix of comedy, drama, film about films, and crime works excellently, highlighting both Maung Sun’s directorial abilities and Myo Min Khin’s great editing, that has all the episodes and the different aspects of the movie unfolding through a relatively fast pace, and in ideal order. Thaid Dhi’s cinematography captures the lives of the poor and the rich with the same realism, with the same applying to the film sets and all the various settings the story takes place in.
Okkar Dat Khe in the role of Maung Sun gives a convincing performance, highlighting the growing frustration of his character in laconic but eloquent fashion, although the one scene he erupts could have been handled a little better. Ko Thu as his brother-in-law is also quite good, with his overall chilled-out to the point of ignorance attitude creating a great antithesis with Maung Sun’s character.
“Money Has Four Legs” could have handled its ending and a couple of scenes a bit better, but in general, emerges as a very interesting and entertaining film, which highlights the situation of both country and the movie industry in the best way.
