Film Review: Nina Wu
Nina Wu, Courtesy of Film Movement
Nina Wu ( Wu Ke-Xi, also co-writer) is a woman of mystery and iron determination housed in a slender reed-like body with a face as delicate as porcelain which can go from serene self-contained stillness to extreme contortions of emotional pain at will. Her evolution would seem most unlikely when we first meet Nina as an internet-famous livestreamer who performs such activities as banal as preparing and eating food with great relish on camera in her apartment in Taipei. After 8 years with little more than commercials and bit parts to her credit, her agent finally presents her with a real opportunity in a feature film. Her initial elation is seriously tinged with intense aversion to the necessity of full-fronted nudity. Her manipulative agent pulls out all the stops to convince her that this opportunity will catapult her to instant stardom.
Nina Wu, Courtesy of Film Movement
It will probably surprise no one to discover that her “mad genius” director re-defines manipulative behavior to include physical, emotional and sexual abuse as part of his “process” to get the most out of his actors. The film has a surrealistic resemblance to her actual life and character. The lines from her character could equally apply to her own off camera experience. As the film progresses and her performance is genuinely harrowing, we can also see the damage to her psyche increasing as she tries to process the need for internalizing subjugation with the need for a sanity. One of the lines used repeatedly is “They are not only destroying my body but my soul”. We can clearly see this as her truth.
Nina Wu, Courtesy of Film Movement
Her backstory is revealed in various flashbacks to her pre-Taipei life as a small town actress with a girlfriend – a kinder, gentler time. There is also the avenging rival who shows up as a nurse with alevolent intentions as well as some of the predictable downsides of finally becoming famous. All of these ancillary events are woven surrealistically into the main story and done with gorgeous color shifts and allucinatory images of things like men in strange masks. The cinematography is dazzling and fluid as the story shifts from flawlessly art-directed locations to scenes on the set of the film and into Nina’s tormented soul. Following Nina along with the camera is never less than mesmerizing and ultimately satisfying as we observed her navigation of a treacherous and cruel milieu and emerge as her own fully-fleshed woman who triumphs in spite of it all. Wu Ke-Xi has one of the most magical faces I have seen. She is able to register so much complex subtlety on her face from moment to moment, that it will probably remain indelible for quite some time. The same is true of this film.
(Available on filmmovement.com)
