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Canwest News Service
Maybe we're all lost in a waking dream state. Then again, maybe we just love the idea of someone experiencing a succession of surreal, life- altering moments in a single soiree.
The attraction of movies such as After Hours, Something Wild, The Wackness and Ferris Bueller's Day Off have already proven just how much we're drawn to the notion of an innocent suddenly immersed in a vat of odd experience.
Mong-Hong Chung's Parking follows a similar line, but the collection of moments and characters he offers on the way is rather unique.
It's Mother's Day in Taipei and Chen Mo (Chen Chang) is trying to buy a nice cake. The pastry is a token for his estranged wife, but romantic reunions are not immediately on offer in this offbeat outing that takes us from the clutches of a one-armed barber to a group of gangsters and the requisite hot prostitute.
Chen Mo can't move his car. The stop at the cake shop immobilized him, literally, as he finds himself boxed in by another vehicle with a bullethole in the back.
The parked car sets in motion a series of stories featuring our accidental hero, and inspire a series of flashbacks that eventually spiral back to where we all started.
At least, that's the idea.
Moving on a fractured timeline that director Chung echoes through his off- kilter and frequently eerie camera angles, Parking never stays in one place emotionally or narratively. In fact, it's hard to figure out just what's happening at any given moment, or how the characters tie together. We have to trust the bigger picture, and that's not easy.
Moreover, confusing your audience is always a dicey tactic, because we can disengage too easily when everything feels random.
The mystery of connectedness is what keeps us invested, because we usually hope for some answer – no matter how meaningless the universe may be.
Chung clearly understands our need for closure, and teases us along with clues and hints that there may be some giant reason lurking behind the apparent coincidences and oddball occurrences.
The blindness of a grieving older couple, a young woman's infertility, even Chen Mo sitting smack dab in the middle of his recently purchased cakes all become small pieces in part of the bigger puzzle – which Chung assembles with confidence and patience.
He even provides a fleeting sense of closure for those seeking a punctuation mark, but the beauty of this well-crafted flight of dark-tinted fancy is how comfortable it makes us feel on the edge.
The movie seems to accept the doubt, insecurity and general fears of the human condition without itching, all of which makes the experience of Chen Mo's disintegration less threatening.
A strange little movie with a lot of style – and a solid heart – Parking demands some abstract manoeuvring before it lets you kiss the curb of closure. It may be tedious for some, but a great mental exercise for others.
kmonk@canwest.com
CAPSULE REVIEW: Parking – Director Mong-Hong Chung writes and directs this story of a man forced to relive and re-experience some life-altering moments when his car is mysteriously boxed in. Chen Chang stars as Chen Mo, a man with an estranged wife and a head full of questions as he heads into an all-night adventure featuring a one-armed barber, blind old folk and the requisite sexy hooker. Odd, but satisfying. Rating: Three stars out of five. – Katherine Monk
