Hei Yan Quan (I Don't Want to Sleep Alone)

Release Date: 17 May 2007;
Languages: Mandarin & Malay with Malay, English, Chinese Subtitles;
Classification: N/A;
Director: Tsai Ming-liang;
Cast: Norman Atun, Lee Kang-Sheng, Chen Shiang-Chyi, Pearlly Chua ;
Genre: Drama;
Showing at: The Picturehouse, Cathay Cineleisure;

WARNING! SPOILER AHEAD!!!

synopsis: - taken from The Picturehouse, Cathay Cineleisure
After being robbed and attacked in Kuala Lumpur, Hsiao-kang, a homeless man, is taken in by some Bangladeshi workers. One of them, Rawang, lets him sleep beside him on an old mattress he had found. As he nurses Hsiao-kang's body, he feels calm and contended. Chyi, a coffee shop maid is also nursing someone's body - her lady boss's paralysed son. Chyi dreads her life. When she meets Hsiao-kang later, her body fills with lustful desire. Chyi's lady boss also lusts after Hsiao-kang's youthful body, realising that he resembles her son. As Hsiao-kang slowly recovers, he finds himself caught between Rawang and Chyi. Meanwhile, a heavy haze invades the city as these men, women and the old mattress lose their way but find one another...

My thoughts:
Art Films/Independence Films are still considered very new to Malaysians. Most of the time, such films will be only screened at International/Art Screens, and it's still not very popular. However, Hei Yan Quan was a 3/4 full, and that's quite some figures for an art/inde film.

For those that doesn't know the name - Tsai Ming-liang's, well, he is a famous art film maker, a Sarawakian, resides in Taiwan.

I'm not a big fan of his work, however, I was introduced to his work by a friend - Boon Kui, many years ago while I was in college. I couldn't remember the name of that film, but that was consider my 1st exposure to real hardcore art film.

His famous signatures/stylse, are pausing a scene for more than 10mins, stunning colours, excellent lightings, superp camera angles, and very very little panning scene.

No acceptions, Hei Yan Quan has the Tsai Ming-liang's elements in it. Hei Yan Quan considers light and easier to digest for a Tsai Ming-liang's work, comparing to his older films.

He managed to bring out some social & international issues and human elements in a humorous/clever way, e.g. how people in Malaysia reacts to the Haze caused by the annual forrest fires from neighboring country, how family members can be selfish to each others, abusive employer to helpless employees, lives of foreign workers in Malaysia, how an individual (even homeless) needs LOVE from another person.

I nearly forgot to mention... there's almost no dialogue in this film. LOL~

Hei Yan Quan, like many other art/inde films, isn't favourable by a common audience, there were a couple walked out of the hall half way showing... LOL~ expected! For us (wildchild & myself), we did have fun watching it.

I always tell myself, when we go for an art film, we must watched it with an open mind, 'cos ART is subjective after all.