“Fantasy World” delves into the anatomy of rape and dissects it within personal and legal contexts. It dares break the “ideal rape victim” characterization, a stereotype perpetuated within the legal system where those who suffered from sexual assault should be morally upright, their circumstances untainted for them to be believable.
It delves into the relationship between student Chen Xin and cram tutor Tang Shicheng, who is way older than her and is married. By making their connection romantic, the film does two important things: one, it illustrates how such setup traps and maneuvers women into a cycle of emotional manipulation and two, how this also serves as a legal shield, a weapon which a perpetrator can wield in his defense especially that time in Taiwan, when adultery was still a criminal offense.
Tang uses self-deprecation to endear himself to Chen and the other students whom he preys on. He makes them fall in love with him, makes them agree to have sex with him, then drops them with nary a second thought once he's done. By this time though, the girls, similar to what happened to Chen, start to blame themselves for his departure and try to desperately get him back.
The film boldly shows that a woman can use sex to get a former lover back, but that doesn't mean it's okay to rape her. When Tang literally removes himself from the desperate embrace of Chen, Chen lets go. But the moment when Chen, all messed-up and emotional, approaches him for one last talk, Tang immediately takes advantage of her vulnerability and abuses her sexually.
The film's imagery is visceral. One can feel the pain when Cammy Chiang, who plays Chen, cries repeatedly and says stop, a plea that Tang ignores. It is also honest in its depiction of the legal profession's truths, where female lawyers could willingly destroy rape victims so their client, the sexual predator, can go scot free. Injurious, scathing pejoratives thrown towards the victim are just part of the typical courtroom wrangling, it's but a battle of tactics and legal strategy, nothing personal. Until it does become personal. And this is when the character of Zhang Zhengxhu, a lawyer who helps in the exoneration of Tang, becomes critical.
Writer-director Freddy Tang lays down a predator's machinations with so much nuance. A lawyer himself, he also shows how the law can be weaponized through the harnessing of perception, the manufacturing of branding, the emphasis on impressions and the weaving of stories that best affirm the public's biases.
Chiang, along with Lee Kang-Sheng, who plays Tang and Hsiao-chuan Chang, who portrays Zhang, lend their characters with all the imperfections and gray areas that their respective roles demand. Chiang's acting is especially exceptional, her quiet cries brutally, vociferously speaking the cruelty of the situation she can't get out of.
“Fantasy world” unveils harsh realities: that of prejudice against rape victims who are not “perfect” and of a legal system which exploits that prejudice.
