PUBLIC TOILET
Ren min gong che
Director: Fruit Chan
Starring: Tsuyoshi Abe as Dong Dong or “God of Toilets”, Ma Zhe as his friend Tony, Hyuk Jang as Kim, In-seong Jo as Cho amongst others.
Screen date (Kor): 2002
Date seen: 31.07.08
Reviewed by: neko
Trailer:
Review: This film is incredible. It’s no masterpiece, it’s not a blockbuster. But it is certainly unforgettable. It’s original in both it’s narrative form and visual composition. I can’t recommend this movie to anyone the way I could recommend universal films like Kamikaze Girls or 200 Pounds Beauty.
Public Toilet has it’s own audience. The story revolves around young Dong Dong and his loose friends who is searching for the same thing trough the whole film, just in different places. And of course, public toilets. Chan has written and directed a story about friendship, family, culture and globalization with life and death as the unison.
I did read a few reviews of Public Toilet before I decided to spend time on it myself (yes, I know I shouldn’t). The one thing that intrigued me, was that the reviewer’s didn’t seem to get much out of this film. I did. I have already mentioned what Public Toilet is about. The only problem with this movie (for the general audience) is that it’s pace is very slow. Chan tells a very important story, but you really need to focus to understand it. And it isn’t something that seems important these days. It could very well have been a hot topic when he wrote it in the beginning of the 21st century, but I really couldn’t say. It’s not something new. And when the pace of the film is as slow as it is, I’m afraid the genius Chan could loose a few followers. For those of you who has seen Hollywood Hong Kong and don’t understand this movie, please don’t loose faith in Chan.
This film leaves me with so many mixed feelings. I enjoyed it, but I still expected something more. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys Chan, anyone who needs to get some confirmation on the facts of life, and anyone who has a lot of time to spare and don’t easily get bored.
In words: globalization, sickness, fellowship, life, death, faith, toilet
Reminds me of: Nothing really. Chan is an original.
Trivia: At a train station in India, the name Bush is painted on a sign, which has nothing to do with the movie. Or at least you would think so. What happened in 2001/2002?
Buy: From YesAsia at $7.99 with free international shipping, this is a bargain!
Don’t buy it from Amazon, as it’s priced at $150 (!)
Posted by neko 
