Back in 1998, Chen Yi-wen was considered Edward Yang's protege, having acted in “A Bright Summer Day”, “ A Confucian Confusion” and “Yi Yi”. As such, and also because his first shorts were quite promising, his feature debut was actually quite expected, with him highlighting his confidence in the best fashion, also due to the rather demanding story he penned.
The script revolves around several people, whose lives intermingle. Kai and his one-night stand Jiajia, who seems to like him more than he likes her, are unemployed, and decide to steal a car. Novice filmmaker Shaoqun is in a relationship with his producer, gorgeous Snow, who is also having an affair with her boss, Liu, whom he pressures to invest money in her boyfriend's movie. Hua Ge is a hitman working for Master Xu, a boss who is quite demanding about the way his food is prepared and served, as a rather memorable dining scene highlights. Hue Ge is smart and capable, but also unpleasant in a number of ways.
Their connection essentially generates through the car that the initial couple steal, which belongs to Snow, a present from Liu, but was also used as the getaway car by Hua Ge. Furthermore, Kai and Jiajia eventually meet Snow, with her flirting openly with Kai to the frustration of Jiajia, who does a whole makeover in order to get him to pay attention to her. Him, however, prefers to help his friend in trouble, K-boy, who owes money to the local mafia, in a series of events that end up with him becoming a part of Master Xu's gang.
What people who have got to know Chen Yi-wen have to say about him is that he is a very likable person. This element is actually present in the movie also, which features a number of characters that are particularly easy to like, despite the choices they make in their life, maybe with the exception of Hua Ge, which is probably why he has the particular fate. Starting from this aspect. “Jam” is a very pleasant movie to watch, despite the somewhat complex narrative, which has the many episodes presented in shuffled chronological order.
As such, Kai's naivety, both for the feelings of Jiajia, and in the way his “friend” exploits him make him rather appealing, with Gao Ming-Jun being quite convincing in the part. Snow does sleep around, but is always by the side of her boyfriend, willing to sacrifice for his career, with Hsu Shu-yuan being equally good in the role and also the main source of sensualism in the movie. The same applies to Shao-qun, particularly in the way he receives Liu's lesson, while Jiajia's almost juvenile reactions to Kai's ignorance are truly amusing.
Regarding the context, the focus on how lost youths were at the time, and the lack of parenting and guidance becomes evident in the majority of characters, in a comment that also seems to provide the reasoning regarding people joining organized crime. The way the movie industry works is another aspect, with Liu's relationship with Snow being indicative, as much as the solution she and Shaoqun find in order to finally shoot their movie, which is an additional remark on the indie movie industry. Some extreme culinary practices (the young eels with tofu in particular) could also be perceived as a kind of comment, as to the differences between the rich and the poor in that regard. The same applies to Hua Ge's story about his eyes, in one of the most memorable scenes in the movie.
The focus, however, is more on entertainment, with the episodic structure of the movie working quite well in that regard, also due to the rather fast pace, and even if some of the episodes seem too far-fetched or even unnecessary. The overall pleasantness the movie emits is also heightened by Ed Yan's atmospheric score, while Li Yi-Hsu's cinematography captures the different setting with realism and artistry, without any particular exaltations.
“Jam” is not a film without faults, but is one of those that will put a smile on the viewer's face a number of times, and that is where its true value lies.
