The Floating Landscape (2003)

Young director Carol Lai presents her most high-profile production to date in The Floating Landscape. Though working on a far higher budget and with more popular stars than in her previous productions, Lai's work retains its unhurried, quiet sense with pop concessions only inserted towards the end.

A slow-moving drama unfolds in the northern port city of Qingdao, which a young Hong Kong woman, Maan (Karena Lam), visits in search of a landscape drawn by her departed artist boyfriend, Sam (Ekin Cheng). Moving into a guesthouse with one of Sam's relatives and roaming his early childhood home, Maan investigates the past while coming to terms with letting go and moving on.

Unlike Lai's bright and colourful Glass Tears (2001) before it, The Floating Landscape is set in largely cold and drab environments. Location work is limited to Qingdao's picturesque old district and nearby rural areas, avoiding industrial and built-up districts spotted occasionally in the distance. Much of the time has Maan and her newfound local companion Lit (Liu Ye) out on the streets - somewhat odd when they set out to find a landscape scene - and maximises use of shabby lanes and roads. The scenario is mostly low-key as Maan becomes closer to postman-turned-guide Lit, and after the search starts out the focus gradually shifts to include parallels between the protagonist's situation with that of others, young and old.

Karena Lam carries the picture in an attractive performance as a visitor immersed into the local surrounds, with the script never dwelling on cultural difference. Liu Ye puts in a relaxed performance alongside Lam, while Ekin Cheng's role is limited to washed-out flashback footage and spoken diary entries. With several big names in the production credits, the look and sound of the movie is for the most part a careful and polished affair, trying to balance art house appeal with some more poppy aspects introduced with a song. The Floating Landscape's visuals are also boosted with the work of Hong Kong painter Yeung Tong-lung and Taiwan writer/illustrator Jimmy Liao in smart bookend features linked to the main characters.

Credits:

Written and directed by Carol Lai
Producers: Stanley Kwan and Arthur Wong
Cinematographer: Arthur Wong
Editors: Carol Lai and Danny Pang
Art Director: Ben Luk
Costume designer: William Chang
Music: Shigeru Umebayashi
Starring Karena Lam, Liu Ye, Ekin Cheng and Su Jin