Blue Sun Palace

Blue-Sun-Palace
Blue Sun Palace

Constance Tsang’s debut feature film entitled Blue Sun Palace revolves around the stories of the life of Chinese migrant workers in the borough of Queens after a sad incident taking place in a massage parlor. The themes of neglect and loneliness in the film are integrated by Tsang in a supportably subtle and impeccably cool manner. Stillness in the film is performed slowly, patiently, and lightly. You are struck in the stomach and only later do you begin searching for the hand that delivered the blow.

This brilliant film focuses on a vibrant and active world that can seem populated and extensive in the backdrop. The viewer maintains a fair distance for most parts save for the start where there is a shaky close-up with a hand camera featuring Didi (Haipeng Xu) and Cheun(Kang-sheng Lee) having a close-up conversation. Even so, Tsang sees to it that the viewer’s interest is aroused in the extreme ends of the corners peeping at the head of the hallway of the massage parlor from behind the curtain. Notable is the form of mise-en-scene employed by Tsang with details enhanced in every scene, well behind-the-scenes sceneries, subtle light diffusion, and soft focus on the edges with dustings of yellows, pinks, and purples all around. Scabious dresses lie on the stair rails, door, and wall images grasp looks thanks to a variety of decorations. Whenever characters engage a seat in a restaurant, be it the dining fiddles or tables, Tsang is careful to incorporate into the perspective all the kitchen, in order to widen the frame subject and force the audience to be conscious of subdivisions throughout the narrative. That is also the reason why those characters cultivated in Tsang’s works, who belong to a certain area, do not look for these spaces, but the opposite happens: they fill them with love, as it happens in queues. They appreciate the places because they represent the Chinese community in Queens and Tsang focuses on these places with drama.

The distance of the camera, which contributes to developing the film’s natural and authentic mood, can also be a disadvantage as it creates the danger of being truly attached to the lives of the protagonists. Tsang does not provide us with exposition like in spoon-feeding medicine; rather, unexpected plot twists are introduced in a conversational tone, and in this case, the audience is the only ‘victim’ to make it. Still, the very simplicity of the remark, and the total realism of the movie, made me absorbed even more into the lives of the characters I was a thirsty, patient voyeuer’s gaze observing Amy (Ke-Xi Wu) saddle a ceiling and attempt to repair a leak, or Cheung peeping through the parlor as he lit a cigarette. What impressed me the most was how Tsang managed to create such a deep story out of bits and pieces of common sights.

This film’s effectiveness is witnessed in the way it transitions from normalcy to portraying tragedy. This engulfing joyous camaraderie is marred by grief as well. Tsang does this flawlessly as his gradual progression in pitch brings a deep unease. Ke-Xi Wu beautifully crafted the sadness of Amy as a dominative figure in the film, one who practices as a masseuse accepting all possible positions that bring sadness with them. But, furthermore, Tsang avoids the hackneyed trauma drama so common in narratives of immigrants in Western cinema, rather showing a glimmer of hope, that somehow it is possible for Amy to chase her dreams even in her anguish. It is a sad ending but one that does not close the door to possibilities the audience is left with an impression unlike that of the characters being restricted to the film. As the end credits started rolling, I wanted to reach out and hold on to Amy and Cheung in the beautifully, harsh warmth of Tsang’s headspace.

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