blog 2: Danger conquers all

“Love conquers all” by the Malaysian directress Tan Chui Mui is the other film in the competition (besides “La Antenna”) which is supported by Hubert Bals Fund. And I should say, my favorite among the Tiger Award candidates I’ve seen until now. It is a very ordinary but I think controversial love story between a young romantic girl and a possessive man.

Controversial because to possess someone doesn’t surely mean that you love him. The visual minimalism corresponds to the simple plot, ascetic dialogue and the ordinary, traditional game of seducement between the characters – he is self-confident, aggressive, even ready to be violent because she wants her at any rate; she is shy, insecure but finally believes him and finds security in their relationship. And this is her essential mistake. There were lots of warning signs on her way she was supposed to notice, she consciously neglected them. Not because love is so blind, and she is so foolish – a result of the naïve feminine nature. But the attraction to dangerous men, the sexual power of the “bad guy” archetype is purely irresistible so the curious countryside girl experiences the urban sin at the price of her innocence.

That’s why the film title sounds ironical, even sarcastic to me. With its observing documentary camera, with the savage realistic life views. “Love conquers all” is just the opposite of its melodramatic title.