Szu-Wei Chen is a writer/director from Taiwan and earned his MFA from Columbia University's Graduate Film program. Having grown up with an interest in directors such as Edward Yang and Lou Ye, Chen is currently exploring a means to bridge the film language he grew up on with and his experiences as an international resident living in the US. “A New Apartment” is his latest work, which is currently having its festival run, having screened at Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema and Cinequest San Jose Film Festival.
“A New Apartment” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The film begins with Ms Wang, a real estate agent trying to sell an apartment to her client, Yu-Ting, a woman in her early 30s. Her efforts are crowned with success, and soon the focus changes to the new tenant, during her first day in the apartment. As soon as night falls, she decides to take a walk around the building and hit the in-house gym. A couple of weird noises in the night draw her attention, but she does not seem particularly fazed. Soon, however, a number of other strange things start to happen, while, after a meeting with the night guard, she realizes that not many people must be staying in the building after all. Eventually she decides to check the noise coming from the apartment just above her and finally makes a friend. Of sorts.
Szu-Wei Chen directs a film that has the premises of the horror, but is essentially a social drama that mostly aims at presenting a rather negative comment on how the real estate market works in Taiwan. Starting with the concept that getting an apartment is considered a success (essentially in the whole world) and continuing with how property ownership is currently a commodity investors use to make more money instead of simply the means of providing people a place to live in, the critique is quite intense throughout the short. As scamming and the fact that average people cannot afford apartments like the one the protagonist picks (unless they have help from their family and take a huge loan) are also highlighted, the remark becomes more intense. Lastly, the look of the security guard close to the end, while gazing at the building, seems to encompass all the above, as his reaction shows a longing for something he knows he will never be able to grasp.
The presence of the young man on the apartment above adds a sense of mystery, which eventually is also connected with the aforementioned. At the same time, though, the part of the film that moves towards the horror is not handled particularly well, essentially being disconnected from the rest of the narrative, while leading nowhere in the end. The scene in the gym for example, with the door that moves for no reason is eventually forgotten, as is the whole aspect practically. That the man on the above apartment acts weirdly but is proven not to be any kind of danger also moves in the same path, as his attitude does not make all that sense.
On the other hand, the production values of the movie are quite high. Danny Wang's cinematography captures the cold, “sterile” setting with artistry, with the bleak colors and the relatively lack of light helping the most in that regard. Chen's own editing results in a relatively fast tempo that also works well for the narrative.
Phoebe Lin as Yu-Ting is convincing in both her annoyance and the way she opens up to the people in the building, even if the second part is somewhat unrealistic. Yi-Ju Fang as Ms. Wang has captured the mentality of the salesman to perfection, including the lying, while the way she promotes the apartment and the building, stating that the residents are all educated, also makes a comment about what the Taiwanese society considers “good”.
When it stays on the social drama aspect about the real estate market, “A New Apartment” works well, with the opposite applying to when it is not. As a whole, however, the sum is definitely on the plus side, also due to the acting and the production values.
