Whisperings of the Moon is deceptively unassuming, eschewing overt style and scope in favour of a grounded approach to a story about two lovers. Understated performances and shaky-cam cinematography lend the film an air of cinéma vérité, quietly dropping us into Nisay’s theatre troupe rehearsals and her family’s funeral preparations as if we’re ghosts reliving her formative memories.

Continued on The Asian Cut.

A wistful tenderness to Two Seasons, Two Strangers runs through these encounters. It returns, again and again, to people searching for connection without quite knowing how to express it. Yet, something is still said through the accumulation of moments. A precision exists to Miyake’s framing, particularly in his use of scale, that makes the characters feel small and overwhelmed when alone, yet quietly at ease when they are together.

Continued on The Asian Cut.

Undoubtedly, the film will appeal to many, purely on the basis of the drama that is found in this dynamic, but Lo’s intentions are not to exploit these figures as an oddity. Rather, she critically examines the ideals of romance and marriage, and the labour and effort that must go into maintaining them. It doesn’t quite achieve the heights and depths in its examination of these topics as one might want, but it is a largely effective piece that makes its conflicts and resolutions well worth watching.

Continued on The Asian Cut.

Balestra takes its time to build Joanna’s back story and eventually reveal her hidden darkness. As the lead, Jumbo remains compelling throughout the film’s two-and-a-half hour runtime, showing her character’s many facets gradually and empathetically. She is aided by the instantly alluring Jacinto, whose calm exterior masks a Lady Macbeth-style undercurrent within his rather complex interior. As a figment of Joanna’s subconscious, Elliot doesn’t show too much individual personality but mirrors Joanna’s own intrusive thoughts, a clever and complicated trick that Jacinto and the film manages to pull off convincingly.

Continued on The Asian Cut.