Covid-19 has altered our lives this way or other, and some were given new opportunities to go places they haven't dared venture to before. When his acting career was put to a halt due to strict anti-pandemic measures and lockdown in 2020, Le Hong-Chi remembered his initial dream of becoming a director, and a desire to make something of his own resulted in the idea for “Love Is A Gun”, a neo-noir about a young man who tries to build a normal life after years spent in prison.
“Love Is A Gun” is screening in Venice International Film Festival
In his ambitious directorial debut that screens in Critics' Week section of Venice Film Festival, Lee slips in the role of his main character, a loner nicknamed “Sweet Potato” who fights for his right to an ordinary life on way too many fronts. Imagine anything that could possibly go wrong, multiply it by five and you won't even come closer to the plethora of unpleasant surprises the ex-convict is met with. In fact, the only breather he's given during the 81 minutes of film's runtime is right at the beginning when he offers us a small piece of a personal Information in a voice-over before the opening scene which shows him at a barbecue organized by childhood friends. This seemingly relaxed atmosphere doesn't last longer than a couple of minutes, with the first in a series of incidents already kicking off.
Co-written with Lin Cheng Hsun, the film isn't a typical action-packed noir as one would expect considering the amount of things happening in it. Everything that comes Sweet Potatoe's way serves to give a bit of an insight into the hardships the young Taiwanese generation is faced with, be it corruption, the lack of job opportunities, or the wrong cards dealt, most of which hit our anti-hero the hardest as someone whose future is already doomed by his wrong choices made in the past. It is also a reminder that not every damage can be repaired if the system doesn't allow it, and that the dream of a simple, ‘clean' life can be easily crushed by it.
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What separates Sweet Potatoe's dream of getting a normal day job is of a purely bureaucratic nature, as he is required to provide his potential employer with a Good Citizen Certificate, proving that the candidate has a clean record. This is something that he – of course – can never obtain. Left with limited choices, he is struggling to make ends meet. His endurance seems unbreakable until the final blow comes from his own mother, an excessive gambler who can't pay off her debts. The duality of Sweet Potatoe's character given in his shift of moods is handled masterly both in the script and through the impressive performance by Lee who built a significant reputation through his work with directors such as Chang Tso-chi (“Thanatos, Drunk”, 2015), Bi Gan (“Long Journey Into Night”, 2018), Ho Wi Ding (“The City Of Last Things”, 2018), and most recently with Alan Yang (Netflix production “Tigertail”, 2020). But Lee also lets some of his almost all-amateur cast shine in their side roles, most notably Lin Ke Ren as a neurotic thug in service of a mysterious, never visible gang leader simply called “boss”, and Lin Ying Wei playing the lead's childhood friend “Seven”. The mix of professional and amateur actors proves fruitful, as it gives the film a sense of authenticity.
A disparity in music choices – electronic beats versus crooning score feels odd at a time, with the latter not always playing in the film's favor by adding pathos to scenes that already have enough of ‘blues'. On the other hand, the work by cinematographer Zhu Ying balances things up through calm camera movements and memorable shots of a smog-clad city, allowing a glimpse or two of its impressive surrounding.
“Love Is A Gun” is not free of small cynical comments on the state of things in contemporary Taiwan. When Sweet Potato's girlfriend Lulu (Zheng Qing Yu) complains about him to her colleague at their work place (a brightly lit sex parlor where they sit in the window waiting for customers), she is told to put her happiness first and expand her horizons. Similarly, the title of the film is also a smart and at the same time heart-breaking, although not immediately clear, comment on the value of life in an environment that barely offers any choices.
Expanding horizons is precisely what no one in the film can do, and some of the strongest dramatic scenes are built around it. It's all about swim or sink, and Lee Hong-chi knows how to bring that message over. “Love Is A Gun” will not enter the history books as a groundbreaking work, but it's a well-accomplished first-timer that puts its helmer on the list of the names to watch out for in the future.
