Au Revoir Taipei might be bordering on art house, but its wonderful & unique infusion of romance, comedy, crime and even noir is beyond comprehension and highly consumable. I think I can even go further to say that there's an element of musical in it, with its 3 dance sequences in the film. Subverting genre conventions, American Chinese Arvin Chen has an interesting way of presenting a narrative and setting the audience up to be slapped in the face thereafter. The uniquely colloquial Taiwanese dialogue is also a hook for youths. (Not to mention sweetie Amber Kuo, a Taiwanese pop singer)
The ending scene is poetic, romantic and we can just feel the love between Kai & Suzie blossoming. I think the setting of the book shop they chose in Bo Lin city, where there are very few such bookstores with such a beautiful feel to them, is really appropriate in bringing out the class of Taipei, contrasting with the night on the street scenes.
Since I really like the music a lot, I shall post the soundtrack here. It's upbeat, tangy and I can just imagine myself swaying and dancing along with the characters. I think it doesn't help that their movements are rather simple to emulate.
& Amber Kuo did a cover of the song, complete with lyrics.
The song adds to the happy, comedic tone of the film and the director's hope in subverting the expectations of the audience. We are so used to seeing triad films that we expect there to be a major fight and a climatic kidnap quite unlike the one in the film.
It's hard not to fall in love with Taipei after watching this film.
References:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/au-revoir-taipei-film-review-29291
http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2010/08/au-revoir-taipei-review.php
http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/au-revoir-taipei/5010793.article
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2010/04/02/2003469519
http://seattlest.com/2010/06/07/siff_review_-_au_revoir_taipei.php
http://sonsation.blogspot.com/2010/07/au-revoir-taipei-review.html
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