By
Angeline Chu
MovieXclusive.Com
2005
SYNOPSIS:
From the
filmmaker of [e’TZAINTES] comes “A WICKED TALE”
– a dark psycho-erotic re-imagination of the Little Red
Riding Hood story. An adolescent with a curious fascination
for the unknown meets a mysterious stranger who lures her into
his game of seduction and manipulation. Set in an enigmatic
fantasy world where nothing is the way it seems, cult director
Tzang Merwyn Tong retells the fable of innocence lost through
a series of very strange montages
MOVIE
REVIEW :
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This
is Tzang Merwyn Tong’s retelling of the Grimm brother’s
“Little Red Riding Hood”, where the tale gets
really bloody and erotic. Beth is Little Red, a nubile Lolita
dressed in proverbial virginal white and the essential red
cape, sent off by her mother to her grandmama’s. Louis
le Bon is the wolf, a predatory and self-admittedly amoral
amalgamation of man’s every primal desire. |
The sexual
tension between them is disturbing and crude, culminating in
a climax that will confound and illuminate the darker aspects
of Beth sexuality. The vulgarity
of the film’s eroticism is not without reason:
Tzang is seeking to debunk the stereotype of the wolf and expose
the equally violent sexuality that Beth is not only fascinated
by, but in control of.
There
is no limit as to where Tzang is willing to take the darkness
of the story and he handles this well; “A Wicked
Tale” is shot in such enterprising angles that it stays
offbeat and indeed injects new blood to a story that has been
retold to death. Taking such risks as Tzang does assures him
an audience torn between abhorrence and amazement at his interpretation,
yet it is obvious that only a stylistically confident director
will be able to see this production through.
As mentioned,
what culminates is brutally crude and arguably necessary but
perhaps the violence is in itself social commentary. A lot has
been said by Tzang about Singaporeans’ conformist and conservative
attitudes and “A Wicked Tale” certainly breaks out
of that mould, but are we ready for such a bold film? Probably
not. It’s too in-your-face and out of this world to create
comfortable relevance but this film WILL stir up the underground
and cement Tzang’s indie status, and that’s perhaps
enough for now.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
This DVD
includes a limited edition bonus feature: Tzang Merwyn Tong’s
“no-budget teenage black comedy that started it all”,
otherwise known as [e’Tzaintes]. This feature is longer
than “A Wicked Tale” itself, which should make you
think that you got your money’s worth, but “e’Tzaintes”
is an amateur film of such horrendous ventures that it’s
almost kind of good. The disclaimer on the sub-menu says it
all: “No budget. No technical experience. Bad sound. Lousy
acting.” You’ll have to give them credit for daring
to trash this out, get it made and be able to laugh at themselves
for it.
AUDIO:
The DVD
only has English Dolby Digital 2.0.
VISUAL:
My favourite
aspect of “A Wicked Tale” would be the way it was
shot. Tinged in shades of amber and maroon, the film is appropriately
dark, seductive and dangerous.
MOVIE
RATING: 3 MX STARS
DVD
RATING: 3 MX STARS
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