介绍:
For weeks, Chinese movie theatres have been dominated by blockbuster action films. But in the midst of all the thundering engines of Fast 6 and the showering bullets of White House Down, there was a rather quiet piece of art that soothes your nerves.
"Touch of the Light" is developed from Taiwan Director Zhang Rongji's 2008 short movie "The End of the Tunnel". In both pieces, blind pianist Huang Yuxiang presents the true story of his life. In spite of a congenital eye defect, Huang proved his talent in music at an early age, winning awards in various competitions. But, his winning streak was cut short when a fellow competitor complained that he was given the prizes out of sympathy. Since then, Huang refused to take part in any more contests. His efforts to lead a normal life eventually brought him to college, where he met a girl Xiao Jie, whose unfulfilled wish was to dance.
Like "The End of the Tunnel", a considerable part of "Touch of the Light" was filmed with a hand-held device,and the pictures are shaky with a lot of close-ups. On the one hand, the shaky camera recreates what it feels like to be a blind person for the audience; but on the other hand, too many shaky close-ups aren't exactly a pleasant thing to watch. The images in "Touch of the Light" are well polished: the abundance of backlit shots coincides with the Chinese title: fly in the dark. Despite life's obstacles, one still has to work hard to realize one's dreams.
Yuxiang and Xiao Jie develop an affinity with one other after their random encounter and their shared experience becomes a source of encouragement for their pursuits. Yuxiang no longer hesitates to show his talents, and Xiao Jie starts taking dancing courses. It is amazing to note how the slightest dose of kindness could motivate and support someone in their time of need. So the movie paints a rather positive and elevating picture about life, and the impact is augmented by Xiao Jie's elegant figure dancing and basking in Yuxiang's original, gentle scores.
The beginning is a bit sluggish, and the perspectives of two major characters are barely connected until very late into the story. Clearly the director still needs some practice dealing with a full-length movie. Sometimes the music and pictures can be a little overdramatic, but it is kind of what we need when action films dominate Chinese screens.
From time to time we all want to escape the madding crowd to think about or enjoy the tiny little things that make us happy. For all its imperfections, "Touch of the Light" offers excellent opportunity to sit down and relax. On a scale from one to ten, I give it an eight.
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