Very realistic drama, just missing some warmer emotions
Floating Landscape is about how difficult it is to deal with souvenirs. The treatment chosen by Carol Lai is quite far away from the typical HK romance. The rythm is quite slow, the movie is mainly taking place in China, the production values are quite high. And above all, it's a film full of meaningful silences. Don't look for the mandatory scenes of a romance here. The story is quite simple, with the girl thinking about her ex-bf, and meeting another man. But Carol Lai doesn't try to make all the feelings too obvious, or to force any emotion.
Sadly, that's also the main lack for the movie. The story sounds very real, but doesn't creates a lot of emotions for the viewers. Or maybe not as many as expected. That's a pity because the cast is really doing a good job. No overacting here, Ekin Cheng doesn't have a lot of time on the screen but is doing quite well, especially when you see who are the other actors. Karena is in her playground here, and delivers another solid performance. At last, no need to say that Liu Ye disappears in his character and manages to express some very subtles emotions.
The directing is also solid, with a interesting choice for the images of memories, slightly changed with some kind of blurring filter, making them look beautiful. The music is also above the usual standard, even if there is a questionable choice at the end. By adding a song to a soundtrack which was until then totally instrumental, Carol Lai goes back to a more classical Hong Kongese romance. As a consequence, the ending is a bit disappointing because too classic in every aspect, compared to the rest of the movie. It must be noted that this remark is only valid for the theatre version. The DVD features a totally different song at the end of the movie. My appreciation should be modified once I have watched this "alternative" version of the movie, which seems to be better.
Overall, Floating Landscape is a drama made with a lot of application and talent. Its slow rythm and meaningfull silents won't convince all the kinds of audience, but fans of realistic dramas should give it a change.
