Letters are only meaningful when they are meant to be two-way communication – and the significance of the six shorts in the omnibus film Letters from the South could be gauged by their abilities to contemplate the ever-shifting relationship between the Chinese diaspora (“the South”) and China (the roots in “the North”). Posting a mix of melancholic and comic questions, this Malaysian-produced portmanteau offers substance rendered in a range of styles, and will inevitably be of interest to film programs examining either China or migration issues.
The six shorts could be roughly divided into three groups: the first pair, Aditya Assarat‘s Now Now Now and Midi Z‘s Burial Clothes sees different generations casting glances northwards. Assarat’s Thai-Chinese schoolgirl reflects on how her mainland Chinese cousin has transformed herself from a shy nobody into her current alluring, artistic self; for the Myanmar-Chinese director Z, it’s all about the hopes of returning home, as a granddaughter helps realize his grandfather’s final wishes by bringing the funereal attire he left in his ancestral village back in China.
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Meanwhile, Singaporeans Sun Koh and Royston Tan offer tales closer to home. The former’s New New Panda using a pending Chinese takeover of a Singaporean radio station to reflect on how one of its veteran production staffers positions himself culturally; the latter’s Popiah, which looks at how kinship is fostered through traditional cooking.
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The final two episodes are leaps into fantasy: in a whirl of quick edits of nocturnal images in the titular Malaysian city, Tan Chui Mui‘s A Night in Malacca reflects on the possibility of revisiting the nostalgic sentiments of exiled Chinese writer Yu Dafu; as he described how memories subside in the tropical Southeast Asian heat.
But at least Tan’s conversing with someone or something with her entry: the same couldn’t be said of Malaysian-born Tsai Ming-liang‘s Walking on Water, which is nothing more than a love letter to his hometown of Kuching. It’s a shame the film ends with a letdown since the what comes before shapes up to be a contemplative collection of affecting migrant tales.
A Window on Asian Cinema, Busan International Film Festival
Production Company: Da Huang Pictures
Directors: Aditya Assarat, Royston Tan, Midi Z, Sun Koh, Tan Chui Mui, Tsai Ming-liang
Cast: Lee Kang-sheng, Lulu Huang, Wu Kexi
In Thai, Mandarin, Teochew, Cantonese and English
105 minutes
