The Midnight After
It’s important to kick off a film festival with something that makes a hell of a strong statement, and this installment of the Reel Asian Film Festival has done so in spades. The Midnight After is a mind bending tale that evokes a wide array of emotions, and managing to entertain like a classic episode of the Twilight Zone.
It’s a night like any other in the bowels of Hong Kong,where the Mongkok area of the city is teeming with action, and a diverse group boards a minibus on their way home for the night, but just after midnight, there isn’t a soul to be found, anywhere. When these people happen upon four university students who have succumbed to a strange virus, they’re left to wonder what the hell has happened.
Writer/director Fruit Chan – with his first feature in five years – delivers a deeply layered effort from a simple premise. It lets our imagination run wild with possibilities, often proving the audience’s hypotheses wrong with every twist. It’s a well shot affair with strong performances from a solid ensemble cast, including Hong Kong cinema veteran Simon Yam. It poses as many questions as it does answers, but they’re great questions.
It’s a fun head scratcher that will have you talking, thinking, and excited long after it’s over. (Dave Voigt)
Screens
Thursday, November 6th, 7:00pm, Isabel Bader Theatre
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