FAR AWAY EYES: REVIEWS BY YIFM
31 March 2023
EAFFI: Young Irish Filmmakers & Young Irish Critics
The Young Irish Critics initiative aims to create a more informal education space for young people to engage with international and youth-authored/classic and independent cinema (film and animation). With thanks to all at YIFM and Young Irish Critics for collaborating with us again in 2023!
https://instagram.com/youngirishcritics?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
REVIEW BY ELEANOR MOSELey
FAR AWAY EYES
At once both quiet and meditative, Far Away Eyes, directed by Wang Chun-Hong, is a graceful portrait of a young couple, now broken up, navigating their daily lives in Taipei under the drama of governmental elections.
It takes great skill to make a frame so cluttered and packed with objects look perfectly crafted, but Far Away Eyes pulls it off consistently, with each shot so painstakingly crafted you could look at it for hours. A traffic junction teeming with motor scooters, or a shop interior piled high with DVDs, records, cameras and other innumerable articles, the cinematographers observe and dwell upon each individual detail slowly and intimately. Textures and movements are given time to ebb and flow: the murmur of a late-night radio, the curling smoke of a cigarette or a curtain moving slowly in the breeze. The film loosely follows its two main characters, a nameless separated couple, but stops at its leisure to observe the life of other Taiwanese citizens, a welder, a window-washer. The result is a stunning black and white film that captures the intricate details of everyday life.
A contemporary proponent of slow cinema and time-image, Far Away Eyes is reminiscent of filmmakers like Ozu in its observation of empty space and unhurried movement. The pace of the film is well-suited as it captures the desultory drifting of the protagonist, played by Chun-Hong Wang, in his half-hearted efforts to restore himself after his break-up. However, the film is perhaps slightly too concerned with itself visually than to focus on the intelligibility of the story. It drifts and wanders with no conceivable direction or aim. However, Wang’s inclusion of the overhanging tension of the Taiwanese presidential elections, visibly dominating daily routine in Taipei, add an extra dimension of intrigue into the film. The constant tannoy drone of election announcements and imposing portraits of candidates lining the street are almost dystopian, and contrast sharply with the busy quotidian reality of the Taiwanese people. There is an almost ominous atmosphere within the film, the stillness of the calm before a storm as the country waits with bated breath for its political outcome, at the same time as Wang’s character teeters on the edge of his existential wanderings.
Overall, Far Away Eyes is a magnificent technical achievement. Here, Wang has crafted an experimental and alluring cinematic style through the amalgam of long takes, slow panning movements, photographic details and extraordinarily impressive black and white compositions that almost deserve a photo exhibition in their own right. (Eleanor Moseley, March 2023)
REVIEW BY jack griffin
FAR AWAY EYES
Far Away Eyes directed by Wang Chun-Hong, follows a young, struggling photographer and his ex-girlfriend, about to move away, who both grapple with doubts about their futures following their break-up. The story is set against the backdrop of the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election which, along with other moments in the film, reflects the characters’ inner conflicts and serve as constant reminders to them about their uncertain future.
The film is shot in black and white with the cinematography mainly consisting of long takes and lingering shots of mundane occurrences throughout the protagonists’ day. It can be likened to a moving photograph, which is fitting given the male protagonist’s profession, and can be seen as a representation of time almost slowing down for the characters as they are left to ponder the future and their break-up. The black and white colours lend themselves very nicely to some gorgeous lighting effects, such as a road filled with the glaring headlights of a crowd of motorcycles. It has a very sombre atmosphere, with there being a lack of a soundtrack aside from a particular moment in the film which felt much more abstract in tone, but it was used effectively to communicate the uncertainty and uncomfortableness of the moment.
The film cleverly does not give a reason as to why its main characters broke up or what their relationship was like, keeping with the theme of ambiguity perpetuated in its choices on a narrative and technical level. There is very little dialogue which adds to the quiet and speculative tone where we can only assume what characters are thinking. However, the film is perhaps too blunt when characters do speak and exposition is delivered very heavy-handedly through multiple news reports throughout the film with little variation, meaning the writing can become quite stale. Much of it is quite unnecessary, as the protagonists’ situations and their emotional states are already communicated quite clearly through their actions and facial expressions.
Far Away Eyes very effectively encapsulates the feelings of doubts which many young audience members could probably relate to. Its use of cinematography not only gives it a unique identity as it seems to reflect how a photographer might perceive the world through a lens, but also delivers an uncomfortable, silent atmosphere where the audience can only infer so much about what the characters are feeling. Though it may suffer at times from a few on-the-nose dialogue choices, it is saved by the beautifully sombre tone created by the cinematography. (Jack Griffin, March 2023)
REVIEW BY jamie waddell
FAR AWAY EYES
Far Away Eyes is a meditative experience, an exploration of a time and place few films take the time to do. Part documentary, part drama: we follow director Wang Chu Hong as he explores his hometown of Taipei City with a new-found appreciation. Filming himself with a static tripod, Wang shoots in black and white providing the bustling metropolitan scene with a timeless quality reminiscent of the French new wave. During the short run time (79 minutes), Wang encounters a number of street vendors, shop owners and even an ex-girlfriend. In the snippets of conversation we get, we can see that Wang is searching for meaning, feeling lost even in a city he knows so well.
Wang is turning 30 soon and this has brought up a lot of questions for him. What is he doing with his life, where are the meaningful relationships in his life, what is his purpose as a creator and as a person? At points we cut back to Wang in his bedroom, typing out a script on his computer. He is struggling to write the screenplay for his next film, his personal existential realisations clouding his mind. Then he realises the answer was right in front of him the whole time.
He finds meaning in Taipei City. In the everyday interactions he has and witnesses. Filming in black and white clarifies things for him. Cutting out the bullsh*t, focusing on the essential details. Helping him see what he couldn’t while focusing on what's next, that happiness comes from personal fulfilment and not from critical success. He is finally able to explore his own city like a tourist, through Far Away Eyes.
Far Away Eyes is an experimental piece, with little to grasp onto in terms of plot or characters. It may not be the most accessible piece for much of the audience, but the film is not playing to the masses. Far Away Eyes is searching for meaning within itself, leaving the audience with more questions than answers.
To me, filming in black and white felt much like set dressing, a way to elevate the material and immediately imbue the images with a self-righteousness that was ill-gotten. However, I believe the shot composition and filming style ( lots of slow-pans across a bustling scene) were excellent. I can appreciate the ethos of taking time to re-evaluate and elevate the now to be your primary focus, make connections with those around you.
Far Away Eyes represents a viewpoint that off-line personal connections matter, and THAT is a message I can fully get behind. (Jamie Waddell, March 2023)
REVIEW BY KHUSHI JAIN
FAR AWAY EYES
What makes cinema unique is its mechanism of motion. Wang Chun-Hong’s 2021 Far Away Eyes creates cinema with a deliberative stillness. A young, penniless photographer, plagued with creative anxiety and the sorrows of a recent break-up, wanders around Taipei. In the background of this personal story, Taiwan’s political environment simmers. Having minimum dialogue, Far Away Eyes engages with the nuances of looking and recording. Shot entirely in black and white, its visual language is made up of inert and tacit long shots. While being about a photographer, it transforms into a collection of photographs itself. Far Away Eyes is a stunning and meditative experiment on the (im)mobility of film. Catch it at the IFI as part of EAFFI 2023. (Khushi Jain, March 2023)
REVIEW BY pia roycroft
FAR AWAY EYES
Far Away Eyes (2021), written, acted in & directed by Wang Chun-Hong is a film about reflection and regret but also realism. It stars the director himself as well as a limited cast, however this yields a film that is more introspective and meticulous as you can focus on these few characters in greater detail.
The film is set in Taiwan, a country who’s film industry was controlled solely by the government as through the state was the only way to get film grants until recently. Since the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture took over the handout of film grants in 2012, there has been an increase in filmmaking as there had been a 10 year slump within which the only Taiwanese film that gained fame was Cape No.7 (2008). Far Away Eyes is one of the many new films that seeks to properly revive Taiwanese film and does so quite well, given its success in foreign markets so far.
Chun-Hong plays the main character ‘Wang’ and the film itself seems to be not so much fiction but perhaps a modified memoir of some sort, considering the main character’s name is the same as the actor/director himself. Wang’s only other accredited work is Double Reflection (2017), a film with a similar subject matter of reflection and reminiscence as Far Away Eyes. The film itself is very beautifully shot, filmed monochromatically presumably to emulate the black and white camera film the main character chooses to use in his photography.
There are many references to the internal dilemma of age which is done through the main character’s usage of older technology like the film cameras and even his old motorbike, things that are very dear to him and he refuses to upgrade. There are also many cultural references, displaying Taiwan seemingly authentically, through the inclusion of street fortune tellers and second hand sellers, something one would not include if they wished to glorify the portrayal of their country.
One of the main themes seems to be regret as Wang again and again reminisces about the time he spent with his ex-girlfriend. This dilemma is also intertwined with the political climate the film is set in, that being the 2019 Taiwan general elections. The inclusion of the political aspect lends itself to the inherent realism of the film as it shows just how important things like this are to the Taiwanese populace, even if they are wistful photographers.
Overall the film emulates the feelings of many older western romance films, however the setting and cultural climate of the film makes it very fresh and interesting as this glimpse into the Taiwanese experience is something that you do not see very often unfortunately. (Pia Roycroft, March 2023)
