Original Title : 伊莎貝拉
Director : Pang Ho-Cheung
Act : Chapman TO(Shing), Isabella Leong(Yan)
Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin Silver bear prizewinning work and The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival closing movie. This romantic movie was made by Pang Ho-Cheung who is known director of "You Shoot, I Shoot". Although, Isabella which is art film didn't bomb in Korea, however it was judged to be good.
Instead of the plot, I lend introduction of film festival.
"Isabella" has a gentle, melancholy spirit as two characters look to the future while haunted by the past. During the chaotic, crime-ridden months before Portugal handed Macau back to China in 1999, a rogue cop named Shing (Chapman TO), already under suspicion of corruption, brings home an underage hooker picked up in a sleazy bar. Then the girl, Yan (Isabella Leong), hits him with a huge whammy: She claims to be his daughter by a long-ago lover, who recently died. Thus begins two people's odyssey, tracked through the shadowy, decaying back alleys of Macau, toward a relationship neither is certain is desirable.
From http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002034382
The title of movie and the name of performing Yan is Isabella which means 'The promise of God' in Spanish. The 'Isabella' is the Keyword in this movie.
Isabella is bridge between Shing and Yan, and it is the past of Yan. Yan was connected with Shing by her mother who is connection ring with Shing , however she is a dead person. So Yan consider her dog who called Isabella a substitute of her mother. Now Yan believes a live of Isabella. Of course she know Isabella is live later. When her mother is in a critical condition, she bought dog for Yan. Yan called the dog Isabella which is her mother's girlhood name. The reason why I think Yan doesn't lose connection with her mother. Yan and Shing who couldn't first love open their mind each other by searching for Isabella. Curtain! Shing's first love is Yan's mother Isabella. Maybe I think the title of movie means their(shing and yan) meeting was 'the promise of God'.
Chapman TO played the role of Shing has excellent performance in this movie. He played immoral
police and accuse himself father in the time of return well. Also Isabella Leong played pure girl Yan. 100% perfectly!!! After watching movies, I think she is only perfect in the role of the villain! The scene of eating ramen naively in spite of witnessing her father's sex sight, screaming for searching her dog, and drinking alchol showed her native ability of performance.
Inserted scene which is made by text imply the future of shing and show political condition of those days. Also the scene of return of Macao is often expressed meeting of shing and his collegue.
Outwardly, the meeting of immoral middle-aged police officer and pure girl isn't matched, but it give a feeling of strange. I take languid feeling because they become estranged and are seperated any time. This feeling is so paradoxical. This special feeling which has an alien substance is flowing the inside of movie like BGM, it doesn't appear in the whole surface. Their karma(Buddhism word) doesn't show clearly, but they have connection like transparent and tough finishline!
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