Bends

Anna and Fai, each content in separate worlds, are jolted by devastating events that send them into downward spirals of financial hardship, isolation and desperate measures. For Anna it is the sudden disappearance of the spouse who supports her rich lifestyle. Fai struggles to find a way to get his pregnant wife across the border to Hong Kong, as it is likely the only way for them to keep their child. Since Fai is Anna's driver, they see each other almost daily, yet they mostly suffer alone and in silence. They move in separate spheres. In unexpected ways their lives intersect more. They begin to support one another, though some situations bring them closer to conflict. In this captivating, gently flowing and affecting film the emotions of the characters are keenly felt as they encounter bends in the landscape, life's fortunes and each other. The cinematography of misty mountains, steel and glass towers and flying birds is gorgeous, uplifting and malleable with the shifting emotions of film characters. I wish there were more such scenes. Seen at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival.

I didn't know a single thing about this 2013 movie titled "Bends" from writer and director Flora Lau prior to getting a chance here in 2020 to sit down and watch it. Needless to say that I jumped at the chance, as I thoroughly enjoy the Hong Kong cinema, so I needed no persuasion to spend the time to watch "Bends".

Well, this was not your average drama to make it out of the Hong Kong cinema. In fact, there is something pseudo-artistic, if not avantgarde, about the way the storyline is concocted and presented by Flora Lau. For better or worse, this is a movie that I believe will not broadly appeal to just everyone in the audience, as it is something of a like-it-or-not-deal I think. I happened to enjoy it actually, hence my rating of a six out of ten stars.

Now, it should be said that not a whole lot happened throughout the course of the movie and the storyline, and that is why I doubt that the movie will have a broad appeal to the wide audience. In fact, the movie's storyline was slow paced and not all that much actually happened as the movie progressed. But oddly enough, I found the stillness of the storyline and its simplicity to actually be the source of good entertainment.

While this is not a story that is driven by a fast paced storyline or an overly active storyline, then "Bends" was actually an enjoyable and entertaining movie. It is a movie that is driven by the character's story, and both Carina Lau and Kun Chen - the two leads - really carried themselves phenomenally with their individual performances in "Bends", and the movie was spot on given their performances.

While not the most outstanding moment of movies in Hong Kong cinema, "Bends" is a movie that might not have had the wide general appeal, but is a movie that will have entertainment value for a more picky audience with an acquired taste for the artsy approach of film making, I suppose.

I can warmly recommend that you sit down to watch the 2013 movie "Bends" if you are given the chance, and especially so if you like Hong Kong cinema. While it is not your average run-of-the-mill Hong Kong drama, it is a movie that actually had two very interesting and interwoven storylines that worked out well individually and together.

this movie is a winner just because the cinematographer just happens to be a certain Mr. Christopher Doyle. there is so many beautiful subdued shots in this movie that you can do capture screen-shots and fill up a whole album. its been awhile since hes been involved in a Chinese project. he is the cinematographer for one of my favorite movies " chungking express " and he is world renowned for his cinematography.

i wonder why the title of the movie in English is called " bends " and then i figured it out..."bends" is slang for Mercedes Benz even in the Chinese language and that is the make of car that the chauffeur drives in this movie. the literal translation of the title from Chinese to English would be "crossing borders or into another world" and in this movie that is what the chauffeur is trying to do with his pregnant wife...by sneaking or crossing over from Shenzen mainland china into hong kong so they could have their baby in hong kong and give the baby a better future.

the crossing over for Carina Laus character who is a rich wife whos husband is a businessman who is in financial turmoil and just disappears...is the fact that she now has to decide what to do with herself and how she will carry on with her life. she is the lady that the chauffeur drives around a lot of times between shenzen china and hong kong. she seems to have everything and in the end after she loses everything she has to make a decision to cross to a different world where she is very unacustomed to.

again a beautiful subdued movie with beautiful cinematography and i am not literally gifted enough to explain this movie thoroughly...but i feel that this movie is a work of art and should be enjoyed as such. like a good cup of coffee, tea or good liquor it is to be enjoyed at a moderate pace.