As we enter into July, now starts my favourite time of the year on the film calendar here at Movie Buzzers, for it’s the start of the 14th New York Asian Film Festival (June 26th – July 11th). Being a native to the UK I don’t get to enjoy the festival in all its glory, instead mostly watching great films of Asian cinema from my bedroom in Chorley – I might very well be the only person from Chorley to have ever participated in the New York Asian Film Festival, truly showing it reaches people all over the world. My first film review to kick things off this year is Meeting Dr. Sun.
Meeting Dr. Sun is a Taiwanese teen caper comedy which sees a group of four friends, led by Lefty, who stumbles upon a forgotten statue of Sun Yat-Sen in their School’s storeroom and decides to steal it in order to pay for their school fees (which they are all unable to pay due to their poverty stricken backgrounds) and a little extra for themselves too. Lefty plans the ambitious heist meticulously in a manner which wouldn’t be out of place in a Wes Anderson film (maybe even shades of Owen Wilson‘s Dignan in Bottle Rocket) and the group look set to complete the job without a hitch. Of course, there’s always a spanner in the works and the group discovers a notebook that reveals another student has had the same idea, so Lefty devises a new plan to seek out their competition and thwart his plans before it’s too late.
Meeting Dr. Sun is a lot of fun with poignant meaning. There’s some big, laugh out loud moments including the silent slapstick heist towards the end of the film. This is when the ‘big job’ finally gets under way but with barely any dialogue spoken for a good 10 – 15 minutes. Add to this the likeable presence of lead Huai-Yun Zhan as Lefty and the films low-key but poignant message on poverty, especially how it effects young people growing up in the competitive environment that is school, and you have a fun film to kick-start your 2015 New York Asian Film Festival experience.
Meeting Dr. Sun screens today, Tuesday 30th at 8:30pm at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theatre with a Q&A beforehand.
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