Soul (2013)

Directed by: Chung Mong-Hong
Country: Taiwan

Movie Review: “Soul” is the kind of film that astonishes us through its images but whose story doesn’t meet entirely our expectations. This psychological thriller with hints of horror starts with A-Chuan, collapsing in the restaurant where he works. The doctors don’t find anything abnormal, suspecting of depression, while his co-workers describe his recent behavior as very odd. A-Chuan goes to live with his family on top of the mountains, but doesn’t recognize his father and sister. Tragedy occurs when he murders the latter, making a dark association with his father, Wang, who hides obscure past secrets and reveals a mysterious detachment in relation to his daughter’s death. Curiously, A-Chuan admits to be someone else who seeks for an identity, having occupied the body left by the real A-Chuan. A game of connected dreams and contact with the dead begins, taking the film to eerie places, only sent to reality again with the arrival of a constable brought by Little Wu, a police officer and old acquainted of the family. The film was able to create the tension intended, and the killing scenes were simply fabulous, set up almost in slow motion and interrupted by momentarily black screens. However, the Lynchian script, written by the Taiwanese director Chung Mong-Hong, was perhaps too ambitious and is not exempt of holes and setbacks. Other aspect that wasn’t always keen was the dark humor presented. Magnificently shot and sophisticatedly executed, “Soul” is a feast for the eyes but a bit too nebulous for the mind.