Led by CJ ENM Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the micro-series project “Hong Kong in The Lens By Asian Directors” features three short films directed by filmmakers from Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand, showcasing the vibrancy of the city of Hong Kong. Nattawut “Baz” Poonpiriya, the director behind 2017's phenomenal success “Bad Genius”, writes and directs “Zi Mui” the Thai contribution to the project.
Zi Mui is screening at Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia
Two young Thai women are sitting at the counter of a hip cocktails bar in Central, Hong Kong, showing the phone to a hunky bartender (Sebastian Mok). They are sisters, April and May (real life sisters Ploi and Cris Horwang) and they are looking for a beautiful young singer named Joyleen (Leanne Jackson), pictured on the phone in an affectionate pose with their dad. May, the eldest, is pressing the bartender to help them, with no results; he hasn't seen her, but maybe can suggest to May some more bars and, in the meantime, he can't help flirting with her.
Needless to say, as the night unfolds and the search takes the girls to several bars, the mood gets more and more intoxicated at every step, leading to a bitter confrontation. May cannot disguise her anger at her dad and his young mistress and is determined to teach her a lesson. On the other hand, April who has been summoned by May in Hong Kong on this vindictive quest, has a different approach to the whole operation. Her attitude is more rational and forgiving, especially because – as we soon discover – their father is dying.
The two sisters split, and May continues her search on her own completely drunk, and finally finds the beautiful young woman singing in a night club. Her anger and her alcohol content lead to a comedic climax, but what she – and us- discover is far from funny. At the end, the two sisters will reunite under the roof of a dim sum little restaurant, that much had shaped their childhood.
Nattawut “Baz” Poonpiriya, once again presents a heartfelt and accomplished snapshot of a young generation, juggling the life they dream and the ever-challenging family ties, accommodating old and new. The emotional bumpy journey of April and May (and “Joyleen”) is one-night-long, but this is a petite, well-built and heartfelt drama that revolves around redemption and forgiveness. The film builds its tension with the juxtaposition of the two protagonists' contrasting characters as they both find solace and exasperation in confronting each other. April and May are dealing with this pivotal moment of their life in different ways and yet they both try to make sense of their love and their identity amidst the emotional chaos. Like the old Cantonese aphorism that marks the opening of the film says, “My family is my strength and my weakness”.
Much love here is dedicated to the city of Hong Kong which embodies the aforementioned contrasts, and it's a perfect background for this story of generational divide, with all the incongruities and clashing peculiarities that come with it. April and May navigate from the modern, hip clubs and bars on Central, to Pottinger Street and Tai Kwun, get the Star Ferry across the Victoria Harbour to Kowloon Public Pier and – as a full circle – rejoin in an old local eatery on Tsim Sha Tsui, with its comfort food and its old customers' photographs on the walls; a place the two sisters have associated to their father along the years, a hub of comfort that has kept them away from his deceptions and is now nursing their sorrow.
Hong Kong appears motherly and captivating in Poopirinya's signature style, picture-perfect camera work, gorgeous photography, snappy editing and the cool, familiar ground of cocktail glamour; a coda from his last movie “One for the Road”, with a pleasant, more feminine turn. All in all, a gentle comedy, a compelling drama open to happiness, and a stylish tribute to the kaleidoscopic appeal of Hong Kong.
