Film No. 59 (2020) September 30th. 6:30 PM. Cinema 1 LUNA Leederville.
"Discount bodyguard, discount rate".(Grandma haggles with a protection boss over her proposed protector).
I'm not sure what to think about Lucky Grandma, even 24 hours after first viewing it. The offbeat small (Chinese/US aligned) film starts so well as we get to know the quiet, chain-smoking Grandma (Tsai Chin) who resists the wishes of family give up her independence and live with them. Grandma withdraws all her meagre savings and heads to a casino out of town by bus. Is her behaviour a kickback on the pressure coming from family? It's not a dialogue driven film so who knows, but while she is anything but lucky at the casino it's what happens on the bus trip home that sets Grandma up for a colourful chapter in her twilight years. Because of her actions on the bus she soon needs protection, enter Big Pong (Hsiao-Yuan Ha) and here lies the potential for the heart of Lucky Grandma, the beginnings of a buddy theme. The issue for me is, it only partially develops this comic trope. They are a charismatic combination. The danger Grandma finds her self in is never taken very seriously but some of the violence is graphic. But that is a part of the film's charm. So while I wanted to love the film more, I did like its quirkiness. Oh, and perhaps the star of Lucky Grandma is the soundtrack; a mixture of percussion, wind and string like nothing you've head before. I'm playing it now as I type. I'll play it again within the next few weeks, depending on my mood. I don't often commit to that when it comes to soundtracks. 8GUMS.
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