New York Asian 2024 Review: FOR ALICE, Quiet, Nuanced Character Sketch

An ex-con tries to find a place in the world in For Alice, a small-scale drama that premiered at this year's New York Asian Film Festival. Set largely in the endlessly photogenic Mirador Mansion, the movie shifts smoothly from film noir to coming-of-age drama without ever breaking entirely free of genre conventions.

The script, by Chow Kam Win (also the director) and Kiki Lam, sketches its characters with care and precision. Alice (Kuku So in her film debut) lives with her mother Ping (Amanda Lee) and stepfather Raymond (David Siu). Ping is an alcoholic gambler currently losing too much money in Macao; Raymond is a lecherous tailor who has abused Alice in the past. Lee and Siu flesh out their characters efficiently, Siu uncannily effective with Raymond's sadism.

As for Alice herself, she is a mass of contradictions. A troublemaker at high school, where she's routinely disciplined for breaking rules, she's also a dedicated piano teacher with admiring young students. Add to that a cancer diagnosis and fumbling efforts to become a drug dealer, and Alice is one messed-up kid.

Kuku So is skilled enough to connect Alice's different impulses into a coherent character. It's a surprisingly persuasive performance in part because Chow surrounds her with excellent actors in vividly written roles.

Observing all this is Chen Shuang (Tai Bo), just released from 20 years in prison and drawn to Mirador Mansion by the promise of a place to stay with his former partner Jiu (Parkman Raphael Wong). When Jiu's wife objects, Chen finds a dismal room in the Lucky Guest House.

Chen watches silently across an airshaft at his new neighbors. He sees Raymond kick Alice out of his apartment, throwing her belongings down to the courtyard below. When Chen tries to help, Alice pushes him away.

They meet again over the next few days, Alice looking for somewhere to stash her luggage, or charge her phone, or borrow some money. Gradually she opens up to Chen, the only adult willing to help her. He even dresses up in a suit and tie to get Alice out of a jam at school.

Chen's past comes back to haunt him, especially when an angry ex-wife shows up. In Tai Bo's hands, the stoic Chen faces a daily battle against the lure of crime. Chen, largely silent, is one of a string of excellent roles Tai Bo has played recently. "He has to be careful, quiet," the actor told me about hischaracter. "He's been gone so long he's afraid to explain himself."

For Alice turns sour and melodramatic as Chen and Alice run out of options. Until then, it's a quiet, nuanced character sketch of two beguiling loners. [It's a shame about the title, which refers to a Beethoven piano piece more familiarly known as "Für Elise."]

The film enjoyed its world premiere at the 2024 New York Asian Film Festival.