I really should hate Andy Lau. I mean, come on ... he's better looking than me. Women prefer him. He's an enormous pop star and an even bigger film star. I'll bet he even smells better than I do. Instant fodder for hatred there, but for two things. First, I am not a petty man given to such base feelings. Second, the guy just refuses to play the part of the spoiled star / twit. Not content with being a massive star himself Lau recently announced the First Cuts project through his production company (yes, he has one of those, too, and yes, it's a good one) Focus Films.
And what, praytell is First Cuts? It's a venture Lau has launched to fund six feature films, all shot on HD, by six young directors from all around Asia, the idea being to spot developing talent and give them a leg up. Film number two belongs to Stephen Chow's sidekick from Kung Fu Hustle but the rest are much lower profile types. And let me tell you ... if the trailer for The Shoe Fairy, the first film to emerge from the project, is any indication Lau has a keen eye for talent.
Directed by Taiwan's Robin Lee The Shoe Fairy is a modern fairy tale about a girl's love for footwear. In today's Hong Kong climate a summary like that would normally mean an unbearable level of saccharine sweetness, likely delivered by one of the Twins, but the trailer says Lee's got something altogether more subtle and whimsical going on. Really great stuff.
The trailer is apparently on the First Cuts website but as the Evil Technology Gods have evidently decreed that I shall never be allowed to proceed beyond the initial page of that site the good folks at Focus have been kind enough to send ScreenAnarchy a Quicktime version, which I now present to you. And you'll also find the full synopsis if you read on.
The Shoe Fairy Trailer (Downloadable Quicktime)
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Dodo who cannot walk. While other children played outside, Dodo stayed home and listened to fairytales. Her favorite was “The Little Mermaid”, and Dodo often wondered if she would have to give up something of her own in order to own a pair of feet.
One day, Dodo’s parents took her to the hospital to have an operation. When Dodo woke up, she gained a pair of feet and could start wearing shoes.
From that day on, Dodo became a beautiful girl who loves to buy shoes. A lot of shoes.
One Sunday morning, while Dodo was cleaning all her lovely shoes, she had a sudden toothache. When she went to the Smiley Dentist for treatment, she accidentally knocked him with her shoe, making a lasting impression with Smiley. After 30 dates, Dodo and Smiley got married and lived happily-ever-after.
Everything was fine except for the fact that Dodo buys too many shoes. Finally, Smiley said to Dodo: Can you try not buying so many shoes? Reluctantly, Dodo agreed. She never walked into the shoe store again.
Until one fateful day, whilst helping to chase a cat, Dodo accidentally walked right into the shoe store. In the window, there was a glorious pair of red shoes. Remembering her husband’s words, Dodo decided not to buy them, but walking away from the store, she turned back to look at the shoes in the window longingly. Just then, a car drove past, knocking her down a manhole in the ground.
When Dodo woke up, she found that her feet are broken. She cannot walk anymore. Dodo did not blame anyone; she just became very quiet and stayed home all day long, wallowing in misery.
Until the day when a little match girl came to her door to sell her matches. When Dodo struck the matches, she saw how her sadness affected the people her who love her the most.
Dodo finally left the house. She packed up all her shoes and donated them to people who need them. Now, even though she had no more shoes, she still had her prince, and even a little baby. Every night, she would tell her baby fairytales about witches, big bad wolves, mermaids, and the Happy Prince, who gave away all his belongings but was happy.