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Invisible Waves
R0 - Australia - Accent Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Jarrod Baker (7th July 2007). |
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The Film
 "Invisible Waves" can't be said to have the most sympathetic of main characters. Within the first few minutes of the film Kyoji (Tadanobu Asano) : a Japanese man living in Macau : has murdered his lover, Seiko (Tomono Kuga), with poison, but not before having sex with her one last time. We soon learn that Kyoji has performed this murder at the bidding of his gangster boss, Wiwat (Toon Hiranyasap), who then pays for him to leave the country on a cruise ship bound for Thailand, with the promise that he will be well looked after on arrival. Clearly out of his depth, Kyoji encounters a series of odd characters and situations from the claustrophobic below-decks rabbit warrens of the economy class cabins, to rundown hotels in Phuket. Filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang has crafted a deeply discomforting and unpredictable film. Languid and often surreal, "Invisible Waves" feels at times like a pan-Asian (dialogue is in Japanese, Thai, and Cantonese) "Blue Velvet" (1986), where the eventual outcome is far from clear, and the motivations of the eccentric characters are often opaque. The cruise ship scenes are especially effective surprisingly so, given that the sea is almost never shown or at least not while Kyoji is on board. Instead, all the shots concentrate on interiors and people so that even the scenes where Kyoji ventures on deck feels claustrophobic and odd, reflecting his discomfort (while most likely significantly reducing filming costs). Kyoji's time on the cruise ship is also a source of significant humour, from when he first arrives at his tiny, dingy room, with its unusual plumbing system and poor location (remember when booking a cruise ship holiday that it's never a good sign when your room comes with complimentary earplugs), to when he is subsequently locked inside his room, and even to his first solid indication that perhaps Wiwat's promise to look after him may not have been genuine after all an overly enthusiastic man who insists that they are old school friends while leading Kyoji deeper and deeper into the hold of the ship. Disturbing, thrilling, thoughtful and funny, "Invisible Waves" makes for rewarding viewing...for those with a taste for the unusual.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1, this anamorphic transfer is excellent. The image is sharp and beautifully detailed; colours are a mixture of muted tones and vivid lush tones according to the location. Skin tones are accurate and natural and black levels are bold and deep. The image is crisp with no signs of grain or compression related issues, the print is also impeccably clean with no visible flaws. It's simply a brilliant transfer.
Audio
Only one audio track is included in English/Cantonese/Japanese/Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. All these languages are represented in the soundtrack and the dialogue is clear and distortion free. The soundtrack is very moody and this is reflected in the subtle ambient effects that make up part of this mix. Surround channels are used effectively if sparingly at times. It's not an aggressive track but it certainly does the trick in immersing the viewer. Optional subtitles are included in English only and I found the subtitles to be clear and easy to read with no grammatical mistakes.
Extras
First up we have "The Making of Invisible Waves", a featurette that runs for 28 minutes 52 seconds. This clip is in both English and Thai, the Thai segments are subtitled in English. This clip covers the full production from a third person perspective. The style of the featurette is very lynchian in it's approach as it skims through the shooting process and interjected with interviews from the principles as we get an understanding of the relationship the director has with cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Next up are three comprehensive interviews with: - Director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang which runs for 30 minutes 3 seconds, in this clip he talks about whether the film picks up from his previous work, on making it cinematic, his working relationship with the screenwriter and also cinematographer Christopher Doyle and also comments on his working style among other things. - Screenwriter Prabda Yoon which runs for 19 minutes 21 seconds, in this clip the screenwriter comments on the inspiration for writing the film, on setting the locations, writing long dialogue scenes and also comments on the characters among other things. - Cinematographer Christopher Doyle which runs for 11 minutes 31 seconds, in this clip Doyle comments on collaborating with the director, on what he thought about the script, on the 'moody' look of the film and how it was achieved and also in not shooting many close-ups among other things. These interviews provide a wonderful perspective on this from three of the creative forces and are certainly worth watching. Following that are biographies for: - Tadanobu Asano which included 2 text pages. - Hye-jeong Kang which included 2 text pages. - Eric Tsang which includes 1 text page. - Toon Hiranyasap which includes 2 text pages. - Ken Mitsuishi which includes 1 text page. - Tomono Kuga which includes 1 text page. - Maria Cordero which includes 1 text page. Also on this disc is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 25 seconds. Rounding out the extras are a series of bonus trailers for: - "Dumplings" which runs for 1 minute 38 seconds. - "Three Extremes 2" which runs for 3 minutes 7 seconds. - "Fallen Angles" which runs for 2 minutes 51 seconds. - "Pusher" which runs for 1 minute 41 seconds.
Overall
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