Loading ...Screen Daily - A man is rushing back home to his wife but a double-parked car blocks his way. He searches in vain for the driver and encounters a variety of persons who cannot or do not want to help him. When he finally gets home the next morning, he is a different person - not only because he is adorned with a gigantic black eye, but because he has learned to see the world differently.
Moving confidently from one episode to the next and one style to another in the tracks of his main character, director/cinematographer Chung Mong-hong has made a distinctive calling card here, smartly zipping through the different genres from tearjerker to gangster. Though not 100 percent convincing by itself as a story, such reservations fade in the light of strong performances from a solid ensemble cast with impeccable credentials, including some of the better known faces in Taiwan and Hong Kong cinema. Arthouse seems likely, and perhaps more in Asia where handsome lead actor Chen Chang is a sought-after name. Undoubtedly, Chung Mong-hong has established himself as a name to watch here and his next will be eagerly-awaited – if only to work out which genre he’ll plump for.
Once Chen Mo (Crouching Tiger’s Chen Chang) parks his car next to a patisserie called Cream (just like the film’s production company), troubles start to pour in, one after the other. First he offends the sales lady, then he finds out he can’t leave because someone has double parked next to him. This being Mothers’ Day in Taipei, the police are too busy to help. In his efforts to unearth the owner of the vehicle and convince him to move it away, he stumbles upon an old couple and their grandaughter; a former Chinese cop turned ruthless pimp (Leon Dai) and one of the girls he exploits (former model Peggy Tseng); a one-armed barber (Jack Kao) cooking fish-head soup; and an unemployed tailor (Chapman To) on the run from the mafia, to name but a few. In every case, there is an expansion plus flashbacks to support the characters… [Full Story]
