Ana Yang is the name of the lead character in Rabbit Woman (Mujer Conejo), a live-action film from Argentina that features some animated sequences as well. The name of its director is Veronica Chen, so we can indeed deduce the female protagonist's background comes right from the director's personal life.
They both have a common Latin name and a Chinese surname, though Ana Yang has oriental features and Veronica Chen hasn't. Still, Yang can't speak Chinese and will be a "foreigner" when entering the underworld that said country has developed in Argentina.
Chen takes us to the darkest corners of a Chinatown and still feels entirely fresh, mainly because Chinese Argentine culture is not something I usually see explored in film. It presents well-known social issues, as corruption and human smuggling are, sadly, universal problems, all in favor of the creation of a greatly entertaining thriller.
In Chen's drama the central character has principles and a strong personality: Yang works for the city government and she won't be playing the game of fronts, money and accomplices with an old powerful Chinese man. As we expect, this decision will put Yang and the people close to her (including her ex boyfriend) in an extremely insecure situation.
Just when you also wait for a story expansion, you know, "following the money" to realize many more people are involved too with these corrupt characters, the film changes direction (and style). When Yang leaves the city and arrives to the town where she grew up, there's a hint that Rabbit Woman might become a completely different movie, more zombie-like and focused in some bloodthirsty rabbits.
When it comes to mixing styles and stories, Chen is not afraid of anything. One of her distinctive filming resources is to show us some scenes as it we were seeing through security cameras; but really what's much more attractive is her use of animation. While the first volume of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill used animation only for the origin story of a character, in Rabbit Woman we can have a scene with both the actors and their cartoon counterpart. Hell, we can have an animated character holding an animated cellphone that displays on the screen live-action footage.
Early on we get to see footage of rabbits as well as a couple of animated vignettes, also featuring these animals. We don't really know much about what's going on and by the end of the movie, some doubts regarding this whole issue will be still present. However, it's one of those weird films that, quite simply, stay with you. On one hand, it is a simple yet always engaging drama; on the other, it's B movie territory with some WTF moments. Pretty damn good stuff!
Rabbit Woman will screen at Fantaspoa on Sunday, May 18 and Tuesday, May 20.