The ending of relationships has always been a topic cinema leaned upon, as it offers opportunities for both drama and social commentary regarding human nature. Chiang Chung-chieh presents a 23-minutes short that has this theme as its base, but also functions as a road movie.
“Big Day” is screening at Busan International Short Film Festival
During a sunny afternoon, a middle-aged married couple, Qiu Xia and Wen Lang are talking a walk by the harbor. This however, is not a stroll, as the two of them are having an intense fight, with the woman being quite angry and the man apologetic, although in a somewhat forceful fashion. As the fighting continues, the two stumble upon an old acquaintance who is now a widow, revisit the place where he proposed, a temple, and finally the registration office, where they meet a newly wed couple.
Chiang Chung-chieh directs a movie that, as just mentioned, unfolds in two axes. The first one is the end of a relationship, with the mistakes that have pilled up through the years having brought the couple to a dead-end. The setting is actually one of the most typical in man-woman relationships, with the man having done the mistake, keep asking for forgiveness any way he can, and a fed up woman not being able to forgive once more. This approach adds much realism to the movie but also an intense sense of drama that works quite well in entertainment terms. That outside forces, as the people they meet and the locations they visit, cannot have an impact any more, despite their former significance, is another comment here, while Chiang also presents what could be perceived as various aspects of the circle of married life, with the newly weds, the divorced and the widow.
The second axis is the road-trip aspect, as the couple walk through and visit a number of different locations, all of which are exquisitely captured by DP Nicholas Lee. The bridges and the water, and the temples in particular are quite impressive in their depiction, with the rather bright cinematography actually fitting the overall aesthetics here nicely. The same applies to Chiang's own editing, with him implementing a relatively fast tempo, as dictated by Qiu Xia's angry walk.
Pan Li-li as Qiu Xia and Yu An-shun as Wen Lang are convincing in their antithetical performances, while their chemistry is also on a very high level. The final scene is probably the most impressive for both, and a rather fitting finale for the movie.
“Big Day” is a well-shot and quite entertaining movie, that sheds light to the concept of the end of a relationship in a way that feels truly original. Chiang Chung-chieh is currently shooting his first feature, and personally, I am very interested in seeing what he will come up with, since the quality in filmmaking is already there.
