Kinamand (Chinaman) Review
I stumbled across the trailer for Kinamand a couple days back and was rather taken with it but couldn't quite get a fix on where it was coming from and then, as if by magic, someone passed in a brief review. Yes, I live a charmed life. Turns out the Danish film is about a man who agrees to a marriage of convenience to help a Chinese woman stay in Denmark in return for the funds he needs to pay the legal bills from his divorce ... Really beautifully shot. Check the trailer here and read on for the review.
Keld (Bjarne Henriksen) is a plumber slumbering into middle age. His wife moves out, and we sympathize: Keld is so quiet and mild-mannered, he barely makes his presence known. He sells all the furniture in his apartment and begins eating at a Chinese take-out place, whose owner, Feng (Lin Kun Wu), befriends him. In time, Feng convinces Keld to marry his visiting sister Ling (Vivian Wu) "pro-forma," so she can stay in the country legally. Needing money to pay for his divorce settlement, Keld agrees.
The set-up is familiar, but several things help distinguish the picture.
Henriksen and Wu are marvelously subtle in their characterizations. Keld and Ling are old enough to have endured the ups and downs of adult life, and each carries their own secret burden. When they have breakthroughs in their relationship, it comes through little moments that are not overplayed.
The culture differences are woven into the story effectively. For example, when Keld is introduced to Feng's entire family for the first time, he finds them watching THE HEROIC ONES on television, and we hear several songs by Teresa Tang in the background. Feng and his family are almost too perfect -- thus playing into the idealized view some Europeans and Americans have about Asians -- but we see enough cracks to make it semi-believable.
And, finally: damn, this movie got to me. It touched a personal nerve, and without crying on anybody's shoulders, I think it captured the emotions of its characters and situations with grace and elegance.
Directed by Henrik Ruben Ganz (SOMEONE LIKE HODDER); written by Kim Fupz Aakeson (AFTERMATH; OLD, NEW, BORROWED, BLUE). Vivian Wu also served as one of the producers. The film opened in Denmark on April 1, and more recently screened at the Cannes Market.
One still is available at the Danish Film Institute web site:
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