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Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
Stanley
Kwan's The Island Tales spotlights the cross-cultural
intersection of seven lives on what may be the group's final
night on earth. There's Sharon (Michelle Reis), an icy Chinese-American
banker, and her friend Marianne (Kaori Momoi) who cross
paths with Haruki (Takao Osawa), a reclusive Japanese writer,
and Mei Ling (Shu Qi), a spirited Taiwanese girl. Completing
the ensemble are a gay innkeeper (Gordon Liu), a bartender
(Elaine Jin), and a celebrity (Julian Cheng). In a bizarre
twist, the characters learn that the government has quarantined
the island due to an outbreak of a deadly virus. Faced with
the prospect of certain death, the ragtag group band together
for the evening to help stave off their feelings of loneliness
and despair.
Sounds interesting, doesn't
it? Well, I'm sorry to report that it's not. In some ways,
the film is hindered by its own subject matter; the plot
just meanders around, wallowing in so much doom and gloom
that you just wonder when it's going to end. Don't get me
wrong, the film has its moments, but on the whole, it doesn't
really deliver anything of real consequence. Most peculiarly,
two of the film's biggest attractions are probably its greatest
weaknesses - Shu Qi and Michelle Reis. For all her beauty
and charm, Shu Qi cannot help but grate on one's nerves
with her shrill voice and thankless, ditsy role. And poor
Michelle Reis! Relegated to performing most of her dialogue
in English, the actress sounds downright amateurish in most
of her scenes, an effect that is so jarring that it impedes
the viewer from forging any sense of connection with the
film or its characters. The other performers are fine, but
they can't save the film's artificial dialogue, which ranges
from quasi-poetic to out-and-out clunky.
In the end, The Island Tales
struggles to be a plaintive rumination on…well, something.
But it's that very vagueness that undermines its intentions,
whatever the hell they might be. I have to admit that at
times, I wished the characters would all just hurry up and
die of the virus—at least then I'd be out of my misery.
(Calvin McMillin 2002)
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