Hong Khaou's debut film Lilting offers a very interesting 'lost in translation' dynamic. What do you get when you put a homophobic elderly Chinese woman in the same room as her deceased son's boyfriend who feels a responsibility to her? Ben Whisaw and Pei-pei Cheng are terrific as the pair. Unfortunately the film is littered with flaws in its lack of restraint despite the limitation. It's very stilted in delivery, it makes an unwise decision to try to include the translator character into the drama without fully committing to her and it's tonally awkward with the comedic relief of the elderly woman's new boyfriend. Ghost characters reek of student film. Nevertheless the aesthetics are lovely with beautiful saturated wide angle cinematography and although it's slight in its runtime it's powerful in its tragedies, frustrations and ultimately the bonds forged. I'm sure Hong Khaou will continue to deliver poignant work and hopefully shred the inconsistencies.
7/10
7/10