‘Luz’ Review: Isabelle Huppert Leads Alluring, if Cold Chinese Diptych About Virtual Reality and Real-Life Woes

by

Untroubled, Isabelle Huppert casually vapes in a stylish gown following a night out in Paris. This actress’ usual fierce elegance is now bestowed upon Sabine, a dying French artist who resists spending her remaining days confined to bed. However, she is just one of the four characters that make up “Luz,” a captivating narrative diptych by Flora Lau about familial estrangement. This work seamlessly connects the separate storylines set in Paris and Chongqing through the use of this virtual space, where the characters are meant to find shared ground. The geographical gap between these two narratives is overcome via this digital link.

The film “Luz,” meaning ‘light,’ showcases Lau’s visual innovation from the very start, with its unique, otherworldly scenes inspired by Chongqing’s neon-lit architecture, accentuated by Mimi Xu’s captivating score. The movie is filled with stunning, hypnotic imagery. A transparent deer wanders through virtual cityscapes that resemble real locations, and this ethereal creature serves as a sign that we are not witnessing reality but an imagined world instead. Unfortunately, the storyline doesn’t quite match the beauty of the visuals, which is a shame because “Luz” could have truly shone if it did.

In his spare time away from being a henchman for a criminal mastermind, Wei (Xiaodong Guo) dedicates countless hours and significant funds to secretly watch his long-lost daughter Fa (Enxi Deng) through an online streaming channel, concealing their familial bond. The translucent deer from the film’s opening reappears in the karaoke club owned by Wei’s boss, now depicted as a painting. This artwork serves as a tangible connection – or a portal, if you will – reflecting Wei’s paternal struggles and the internal conflicts of Ren (Sandrine Pinna), a young art dealer from Hong Kong bound for Paris to visit her stepmother Sabine. The deer painting was created by Ren’s father. To flee their current lives and connect with others, both Ren and Fan immerse themselves in a popular virtual reality game called Luz, using a standard headset with a blue light as their gateway.

In the virtual reality experience called “Luz,” users are presented with various environments to delve into. A playfully ironic bar setting sees Wei attempting to converse with a holographic bartender, only to grasp the artificial nature of the situation. He’s on the hunt for Fa and believes his chances of finding her lie within this digital realm. Within Luz, Lau and cinematographer Benjamín Echazarreta adopt a first-person viewpoint, making the camera function as the character’s eyes (this technique was effectively utilized in RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys”). Additionally, there’s a complex system for characters to enter and exit the digital world, which is characterized by a wave of colorful pixels and geometric gateways.

Despite its captivating aesthetics, the scenes set outside the game’s Twilight Forest or urban environments often feel ordinary and emotionally flat. The complex dynamic between Sabine and Ren, who harbor intricate feelings towards the man who united them, unfortunately doesn’t delve deeply into their personalities or long-standing issues, resulting in a lack of profound character development.

With her captivating charm and skill at expressing contempt or empathy with just a glance, Huppert breathes life into otherwise ordinary scenes, particularly those set by the sea (which seem remarkably alive in “Luz”). However, the storyline struggles to match her intensity. Unfortunately, some plot developments in “Luz” are too obvious, such as the predictable fact that the older characters, Sabine and Wei, initially fail to comprehend the value of immersive technology but eventually embrace it thanks to the influence of the young women in their lives.

In Luz, the timid Ren transforms into a self-confident heroine. At the same time, Wei permits a touch of vulnerability when wearing his headset, hoping to convince Fa of his genuine concern for her. Later, these two narratives intertwine in the virtual world, where Ren encounters Wei and they consider their individual reasons for using Luz as a tool.

The narrative becomes increasingly fragmented and complex, with separate storylines intertwining, such as Wei’s situation involving a friend requiring a substantial amount of money and his romantic entanglement with a woman who has a young daughter. At one instance, Wei attempts to sell a convincing forgery of the deer painting created by Ren’s father, suggesting that the imitation may evoke a similar emotion as the original artwork. This seems to be a recurring theme in Lau’s perspective, extending to his experience within the virtual world.

Could an illusion produce the same emotional response as a genuine experience? And under what circumstances is one considered more authentic than the other, if they both impact our thoughts? The thoughtful “Luz” asks these intriguing questions, but lacks the courage to delve into them deeply. However, the film isn’t introspective enough to be strictly categorized as a philosophical art piece. Despite Lau’s aim to demonstrate that technology can bridge us just as easily as it isolates us being particularly relevant today, most of the focus was on its theoretical aspects rather than on the emotional experiences of its users.

Read More

2025-02-01 03:17