Famed cinematographer (and collaborator with Wong Kar-wai on some of the Hong Kong auteur’s most celebrated films) Christopher Doyle takes the directorial reins together with first-time feature director Jenny Suen to pay whimsical homage to her hometown and his adopted home of Hong Kong.
The titular girl – a motherless teenager who is allergic to sunshine – lives with her father in a seaside pearl-farming village. An outcast, she haunts the seashore at twilight, cutting a ghostly figure against the crashing waves in her broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. A stranger, a Japanese artist who’s fled art-world glitz for the solitude of a derelict mansion nearby, sees her nightly peregrinations, and a tentative friendship develops between the two possibly kindred spirits. Counterpointing their solitariness, a boisterous, streetwise kid goes about the village everyday, hawking mosquito coils. On his round one day, he happens upon a secret meeting between a local official and a group of visitors that bodes ill for the village’s future.
Hong Kong lives in the snatches of a bygone melody, imaginings sparked by treasured mementos, and the textures of a present that may not have a tomorrow. At once a mood-piece, a reflection on Hong Kong, and a coming-of-age story, „The White Girl“ makes palpable the delicate balancing act of a girl growing up, holding on yet letting go of dreams.
Cheng-Sim Lim
The White Girl
The White Girl
Genre
Drama
Director
Christopher Doyle, Jenny Suen
Run time
1h 37min
Cast
Angela Juen, Joe Odagiri
Genre
Drama
Director
Christopher Doyle, Jenny Suen
Run time
1h 37min
Cast
Angela Juen, Joe Odagiri
Famed cinematographer (and collaborator with Wong Kar-wai on some of the Hong Kong auteur’s most celebrated films) Christopher Doyle takes the directorial reins together with first-time feature director Jenny Suen to pay whimsical homage to her hometown and his adopted home of Hong Kong.
The titular girl – a motherless teenager who is allergic to sunshine – lives with her father in a seaside pearl-farming village. An outcast, she haunts the seashore at twilight, cutting a ghostly figure against the crashing waves in her broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. A stranger, a Japanese artist who’s fled art-world glitz for the solitude of a derelict mansion nearby, sees her nightly peregrinations, and a tentative friendship develops between the two possibly kindred spirits. Counterpointing their solitariness, a boisterous, streetwise kid goes about the village everyday, hawking mosquito coils. On his round one day, he happens upon a secret meeting between a local official and a group of visitors that bodes ill for the village’s future.
Hong Kong lives in the snatches of a bygone melody, imaginings sparked by treasured mementos, and the textures of a present that may not have a tomorrow. At once a mood-piece, a reflection on Hong Kong, and a coming-of-age story, „The White Girl“ makes palpable the delicate balancing act of a girl growing up, holding on yet letting go of dreams.
Cheng-Sim Lim
The titular girl – a motherless teenager who is allergic to sunshine – lives with her father in a seaside pearl-farming village. An outcast, she haunts the seashore at twilight, cutting a ghostly figure against the crashing waves in her broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. A stranger, a Japanese artist who’s fled art-world glitz for the solitude of a derelict mansion nearby, sees her nightly peregrinations, and a tentative friendship develops between the two possibly kindred spirits. Counterpointing their solitariness, a boisterous, streetwise kid goes about the village everyday, hawking mosquito coils. On his round one day, he happens upon a secret meeting between a local official and a group of visitors that bodes ill for the village’s future.
Hong Kong lives in the snatches of a bygone melody, imaginings sparked by treasured mementos, and the textures of a present that may not have a tomorrow. At once a mood-piece, a reflection on Hong Kong, and a coming-of-age story, „The White Girl“ makes palpable the delicate balancing act of a girl growing up, holding on yet letting go of dreams.
Cheng-Sim Lim
Info
Rating
(none)
Production year
2017
Global distributor
Kino Films Co
Local distributor
Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ
In cinema
12/2/2017