Inseparable - brilliant and very amusing Chinese movie starring Kevin Spacey and yes I did just say
I had the chance to see the UK premier of a new film from China staring Daniel Wu and Kevin Spacey at the 2012 Terracotta film festival. I have to say didn’t know exactly what to think I knew it was a comedy of sorts and I thought probably a buddy movie but it surprised me with being a bit more than these things. The plot follows Li (Daniel Wu) a trouble young man having problems at home as well as at work and after a failed suicide attempt befriends his eccentric neighbour Chuck (Kevin Spacey). The two soon become friends with Chuck bringing out Li’s more outgoing side allowing him to have the confidence to do more things and to really live. But things are not as they seems and Li soon learns that his problems come back to haunt him and his lines of reality begin to blur. It’s not hard to guess that some of the people he is meeting and hanging out with are not really there and that he is in fact hallucinating and has to choose whether to continue hanging out with these figments or face the reality of his life and the problems he is hiding.
This film is a mix of brilliant comedy, touching tale of friendship, a drama and just pure moments of surrealism. It makes you laugh and cry which all the best films do, you really feel for Li so sucked into his world of crazy you yourself forget that he stated the movie trying to kill himself and have no idea why he would do that. His friendship with Chuck is fun and they play off each other so nicely with chuck bringing out the confident person with Li. The best scenes of this film defiantly Li and Chuck forming a vigilante crime fighting team complete with costumes driving round the city looking for crime and uncovering illegal tofu rings. But it’s not just silly crime fighting Li’s with is an investigative journalist and Li decided to bring to justice people she try to expose but didn’t have enough evidence to bring to the police. In a twist we find out that Li’s wife lost their baby after she took supplements from a company that skipped putting folic acid in them and therefore causing the children to not develop. Li in his new superhero guise is able to confront the head of the company and get proof to the papers and the police. It’s actually a touching moment when you realise what Li is fighting for and that he has suffered trauma in his past but he is facing it. What makes scenes funny is the fact that once you know Chuck is a figment he starts turning up in all sorts of situations that he shouldn’t be, behind Li’s boss when she’s telling him off pretending to smack her arse and Li has to keep a straight face.
Knowing chuck is a figment was a twist easy to spot from the beginning as the looks people give him when he’s talking to Chuck in public places and soon they come to an agreement of when the best time to acknowledge Chuck is and when he has to behave. It also comes in handy when trying to intimidate criminals; no one is going to mess with the crazy guy who keeps asking his imaginary friend to rough you up. There are also moments of surrealism such as a hair clip that starts barking at Li showing that he is getting a bit too into the imaginary world he is hiding in and that he is losing touch of reality.
Apart from being a very funny and touching film it is also filmed very well with beautiful cinematography of romantic flashbacks and ideals. The superhero scenes are filmed as is they really are vigilantes with show motion walking, standing on buildings and even the background explosion. And yet even with dramatic scenes like this it juxtapositions it with dramatic scenes showing the distant and troubled relationship of this married couple not facing the tragedy of losing a child together but just living separate lives and the loneliness they are imposing themselves to. You have comedic scenes with witty dialogues and situation comedy and then you have the harsh reality seeping in invading Li’s joyful and fun fantasy world. All these themes mix and blend leading to Li finally realising how bad his grasp on reality is and that he has to face the fact that his world are blurring. Once the worlds have blurred so far he realises he’s in danger of losing touch completely and decides it’s time to start facing his reality. He does in fact face his demon and his tragedy, realising he needs to talk to his wife, face the problems at work and start living more honestly.
This film really is a brilliant film just full of fun and joy and a definite must see!!!!!
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