‘Keeping on’: a review of Simon Liu’s ‘Happy Valley’ — Film Friday
Simon Liu’s ironically titled, Happy Valley, is a film about his native Hong Kong and its attitude of perseverance in the face of adversity.
After receiving a press pass from the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) for the February 2021 edition of their annual week-long event, I have written reviews for Bournbrook magazine of entries to the festival’s Ammodo Tiger Short competition, many of which are experimental in design, and play with a range of cinematic forms and ideas.
Simon Liu’s ironically titled, Happy Valley, is a film about his native Hong Kong and its attitude of perseverance in the face of adversity.
Though the film harks back to colonial problems of the past, referencing sound bites from old TV shows and featuring warped audio bites of old songs, the film is particularly pertinent in relation to the current state of the pandemic we find ourselves in. The film shows images of regular Hong Kong citizens and street vendors ‘keeping on’ while evidence of urban detritus lies around them — uncollected rubbish bags, a discarded face mask, discarded building debris…
Credit: IFFR
The film is rather lovingly filmed in the manner of an old cine camera, imperfections and all. It reminded me without question of the work of the late Lithuanian-American filmmaker, Jonas Mekas, who made avant-garde video diary films of his adopted home of New York city, featuring enigmatic music and bits of narration.
Like the work of Mekas, Liu’s film is a small urban feast for both the eyes and the ears.
