Mostly known by his jobs as editor in films like “Girl's Revenge”, and the series “Till Death Do Us Part”, Pan Ke-yin is also a filmmaker. “My Sister”, the first production of his own company Ke-Yin Film, obtained Funds for Short Films by the Ministry of Culture, and was selected into the Forward Taiwan Program of the 23rd Taipei Film Festival, before it found its way to Osaka.
My Sister is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
The story revolves around Hsiao-chun, a 18-year-old woman, member of a family of four, who is about to start her university days. Hsiao-chun is quite accomplished, despite her age, having really good grades, retaining a job at a call center, and keeping an admirer/boyfriend who seems particularly fond of her. Her only problem is her little brother, Hsia-zai, whom she shares a bedroom with, who never seems to stop enjoying torturing her. Either by playing his flute in her ears while she is sleeping, or mocking her during intimate times with her boyfriend, the young boy is a true nuisance. One night, however, the girl overhears her parents speaking and a terrible secret is revealed, which soon puts her whole family life into perspective, with the negligence she felt coming from her mother and father starting to make sense in her mind. Just before she is ready to leave for a university in Taipei, another twist comes to the fore, towards the opposite direction this time.
Pan Ke-yin essentially directs a drama that makes a very interesting comment, that family members love and care for each other, even if at times, this does not seem like the case, and conjunctively, that sometimes, you can love your family even if you do not particularly like them. The way he builds the path to this comment is excellent, in a “things will get worse before they get better” fashion, which cements in the scene with the four-person riding a bike and the goodbye at the station, both of which are really touching in their presentation.
The second great aspect of the movie is the overall depiction of the working-class family in rural Taiwan, which is both realistic, as in the presentation of their apartment and the office the protagonist works for example, and picturesque in the surrounding area. Furthermore, the small moments he catches Hsiao-chun showing her feelings to the camera are equally impressive, also highlighting the excellent acting by Huang Pei-chi. The same applies to Chu Yi-min's Hsia-zai, who succeeds in presenting a rather annoying child to the fullest.
Plans for the 25-minute “My Sister” to expand to a feature version titled “My Family” are already in motion, and, personally, I am really looking forward to it, since the short is already great.
