ZOOM HUNTING

Directed by Cho Li
Produced by Yeh Jufeng
With Ning Chang (the photographer), Zhu Zhi Ying (the writer), Wen Sheng Hao (the husband), Chou Heng Yin (the lover) and Michelle Krusiec (the wife)
An Ocean Deep Films production
Released in DVD the 16th July 2010

Mystified truth in Taipei City…

Zoom Hunting deals with the question of the real truth in a fascinating and labyrinthine ‘huit clos’: the main topic focuses on the relationship between two sisters, one is a fashion photographer who took by accident a picture of a cheating couple making Love, the other is a writer who lost her inspiration after an accident which made her unable to get children. It tells with acuteness and sensibility how a little event occurring in our daily life can disturb us and lead us to an incredible and terrible truth, the inner and fellows’ one…. Even the trailer focuses more on the cheating couple, sex and peeping – peeping is the mother of creativity says the youngest sister, the naïve and questioning Ruyi incarnate in a vivid and spirited mood by Ning Chang- the real topic of the movie is the perverse and influenced relationship existing between two sisters, the lies and non sayings between them, the hidden dirty secret kept by the older sister.

Directed like a thriller – some people may compare the movie making with American movies in its shortcuts, fast scenes and overviews like the last image of the movie… which let us perplex: did something arrive really in this too quiet area downtown? Was it a dream? – the audience fall into a labyrinth of events tracking very fast until the appearance of a beginning of truth during Ruyi’s investigation, the discovery of the cheating woman life with her kid and husband – embodied with easiness and sensuality by Miss Chou- , the existence of the official Wife played by Ms Krusiec, whom acting without any word is frightening of authenticity, specially the anger she showed to her cheating husband. The actress playing the older sister shows the deep duality of the writer who faces a block: in her gesture and face, one can see the complexity of her character, a very difficult one to incarnate because she had both to hide her inner feelings and show out a subtle self perversion in a very sensitive acting.DVDM

Interview: Cho Li, an implicated art director

Cho Li who used to be more a producer than a movie director explain us that if she decided to do this movie, it was because of the topic: she wanted to talk about realities of modern life, especially about women who are not the main topic in Taiwanese movies unfortunately. The women are often in Taiwanese society divided between their duty due to tradition (marriage, family, children) and their desires due to modernity (living by themselves, following their own will… being a modern female). Many Taiwanese girls are like Miss Chou character’s “new in mind, conservative in action” as Cho Li explains. She did not want to show women as dolls or objects as one can see in many Taiwanese movies.

The major difficulties were to find the financial support and the actors. She knew already Miss Chang, one of the most promising young actresses in Taiwan as she says, and Miss Zhu, a well known actress in Taiwanese movies. For the cheating woman, Miss Chou was recommended by Miss Zhu agent and when she saw her picture and her easiness in the acting, especially for the nude scene, she decided to give her the role: according to Cho Li, “she is born to be an actress”. For the choice of the cheating man, she already knew M. Wen, when he looks more like a street guy – before he becomes famous in TV series- and was really interested in his acting, a very honest one. Finally, she finds Ms Krusiec (the most professional) for the cheated wife and gave her a mute role because “as she lives in the USA, her Chinese is not so good and we wanted to work together on a Taiwanese movie”…

Cho Li, who regrets that there is not so many social drama in Taiwanese movies, makes Ruyi says ‘peeping is the mark of creativity’ as a way for her to mock the industry of Taiwanese movies and herself: “peeping is just a pretext to talk about another thing more psychological because in the environment system if you don’t please the audience, you can’t do what you want: that is a tricky thing, so it is a reason why the trailer focuses more on peeping and sex”. However, “what makes me sad is that people say it is our choice being entertained because we pay money but don’t tell me how to work because critic is easy and I don’t understand why some people say my movie is a copy of American ones, it is an independent film, I did not want to copy any of American movies as ‘blow up’ even both deals with peeping… The tragedy of many Taiwanese movies is that the local market is too limited and the government doesn’t limit Hollywood movies; it is the only country in the world where you can have as many Hollywood films as you want! For example, in one movies theatre, 25 movies come from Hollywood and 5 are non Hollywood ones, including french, foreigner or Taiwanese independent films!!! And 90 percent of Taiwanese audience goes to Hollywood films….”DVDM