Movie Review: Rebels of the Neon God (1992)

Adolescent Adventures

Movie: Rebels of the Neon God

Dir: Tsai Ming-liang

There is an instance in Tsai Ming- liang’s Rebels of the Neon God where the mother of an adolescent boy confides to her husband that her kid is the incarnation of the Neon god, who is known for rebelling against his own father Lee-chin. This story doesn’t have any hold on the narrative of the movie, it’s just that it provides a hint into the rebellious nature of the young people in action.

This coming-of-age drama is as much the story of the young Ah ping--who is not content either with his school life or his shadow-like and lacklustre existence of staying with his parents—as it is the story of Ah Tze, an energetic lad who revvs away on his motorcycle. A minor hormonal error committed by Ah Tze triggers an already disturbed Ah Ping to break free from the commitments he had towards his family. Ah Ping, who had the air of a not-so-confident boy throughout the movie having his revenge on the boisterous Ah Tze towards the end of the movie and his act of killing a cockroach with a drawing compass, and the looks of jealousy in his eyes whenever he sees Ah Tze with this lady are all hinting at how lonely he actually is. Tsai Ming-liang once told in an interview of how he was avoided by his fellowmen back in school, and how he started enjoying his own company by literally stopping to talk to anyone. Ah Ping might have a bit of Tsai in him too, who knows.

There’s not one dialogue that seems to be jutting out or inappropriate, and even the recorded score of the film is used with care. An occasional tempo-like beat seems to be the only use of composed sound all through its length. The setting of the film is so organic that humour springs from nowhere in a scene where Ah Ping masquerades a frenzied tremble to act like he is incarnation of the Neon God in front of his parents. And when we prepare ourselves to laugh for this, the father throws a plate at his son bringing back the tension which was eased for a moment.

In the end, we don’t know about the fate of the youngsters in the movie, but we know enough about them to be content with. Rebels of the Neon God has enough adventures and moments in its belly, making it a fine coming-of-age movie.

👍

Comments

Movie Review: Ichi the Killer (2001)

A Wrong Movie for the Wrong Times Movie: Ichi the Killer Dir: Takashi Miike Ichi the Killer is devoid of any of the morals that we are conditioned to watch in movies and is regressively violent all through its length. Takashi Miike is in for a two hour long self-indulgent exploratory trip on the nuances of human violence, and the fact that he doesn’t care at all, brings forth a sense of awful disgust in the mind of an ordinary film goer(that includes me) all through the film. The film begins with Ichi, an insecure young man playing the peeping tom on the balcony of a couple. Ichi is gaining pleasure out of the man's act of thrashing up his girlfriend’s face, which consequently makes him to jerk off vigorously and end up ejaculating himself on a potted plant. The title of the film strangely emerges from the puddle of semen that dripped fresh off the plant. What ensues is an aesthetically catchy and merciless gore-fest to which every single character of ...

Movie Review: Kaathal (2023)

A Tale of Acceptance Movie: Kaathal - The Core Dir: Jeo Baby Kaathal is both emotionally draining and uplifting at the same time. Almost every major character in the film exhibits a face filled with pent-up emotions waiting to burst out into uglier forms, which surprisingly doesn't happen. But the beauty of the film is that when the emotional blast does come towards the end, it arrives with rather kinder tones of acceptance, letting go and setting everyone free. Both Mathew played by Mammoty and Omana by Jyothika are portrayed as a stone-cold couple who talk very little and emote very little shades of delight in their faces. Their physical self doesn't loosen up from the rigidity till the closing scenes of the film when they have found the closure they've been yearning for. While Great Indian Kitchen was about setting oneself free from oppression when patriarchy tried its best to pin down the woman of the story, his subsequent film Sreedhanya Catering Service ...

Movie Review: Vagabond (1985)

Woman on the Road Movie: Vagabond Dir: Agnès Varda Brimming with humanity, Vagabond tells the bum-like life of a vagrant girl called Mona. With unflinching resilience and courage to lead on with her life of independence and cool-headedness, she accompanies people she meets along the way, only to split with them after a while. The movie begins with someone finding Mona in a gutter, lying all frozen and stained with the purple of wine dreg. What ensues is a peep into her life before the incident, starting with her arrival into that place from a beach. We get to know Mona through flashbacks emanating from the confessions of the people whom she met along the road. All of them remembers her clearly, as she is that girl which either someone's mother doesn’t want her daughter to become or was a pain in the ass for another person who offered her help. Agnès Varda , who made the brilliant Cleo from 5 to 7 that showed the life of a lady who roams th...

CINEMATHEQUE

Search This Blog