You Shi Tiaowu
2000 / 103m - Hong Kong
Mystery, Drama
2.5*/5.0*
The Island Tales poster

Watches

December 02, 2020

2.5*/5.0*

Hong Kong has never had many dedicated arthouse directors, its film industry is more targeted at producing genre films. Stanley Kwan never really made a big impact on the international stage, he mostly remained in the shadow of Wong Kar-Wai and looking at The Island Tales, that's really not such a big surprise.

Seven people are trapped on an island after the government suddenly decides to quarantine it. The island is suspected of being the source of a dangerous virus going around. The situation creates an otherworldly atmosphere that causes the seven to reflect on their lives and their mutual relationships.

I had a pretty hard time figuring out what Kwan was trying to accomplish here. The cinematography was solid, but the soundtrack felt off, the dialogues were pretty cheesy and the entire concept never seemed to find its footing. It's a bit of an oddball film, there are definitely some interesting ideas here, but overall it doesn't really work that well.