High Noon – Lit yat dong hung (2008)

Directed by: Heiward Mak | 100 minutes | drama | Actors: Sham Ka-kei, Anjo Leung, Venus Wong, Lam Yiu-Sing

If the young people Heiward Mak presents in her adolescent drama are representative of contemporary youth, then there is clearly something amiss. Not only with the young people, but with the whole educational process of society. ‘High Noon’ is part of a trilogy about young people in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Incidentally, the triptych is financed by Eric Tsang, a true Hong Konger and in possession of a truly impressive filmography. The Hollywood of the East has a thriving film industry that mainly deals in action films disguised as violence ballets and the inevitable Kung Fu antics. The most famous follower of this theatrical powerhouse is undoubtedly John Woo. But it doesn’t always have to be bloodshed filmed in slow motion. Mak proves that there is room for other genres and that a small-scale portrait has a right to exist in the voluptuous cinema stock of the former British colony.

An important school exam forms the final destination for a close-knit group of seven boys and two girls. In the period leading up to this, the students do not yet realize that this turning point will have a decisive influence on them. The friends slowly rise above their homogeneous cocoon of the group. The meantime is killed with adolescent wantonness, sex, drugs and a lot of tumult. From God, indeed. First act then think annotates one of the main characters. Vandals are filmed and neatly posted on the internet as it should be in this cyber world. Although in possession of a flashy mobile phone, it is very difficult for the adolescents to communicate to the adult world. Parents are aliens and school is one big joke where detention is the key.

Wing, the misfit of the mixed bag, comments on the excesses and acts somewhat as everyone’s conscience. Each member has their own discomfort and tries to deal with it personally. The clique is a way to forget the worries and provide a kind of connection. Destruction serves to temporarily fill the emotional emptiness. Painful events set off a negative chain reaction that causes the wedding cake of camaraderie to collapse like a house of cards. The emptiness that draws the main characters of ‘High Noon’ quickly takes over the viewer. The collage of faits diverse forms an incoherent and repetitive image that does not always show a distinctive view.

The fact that the film-maker herself has only just left school, so to speak, makes for a somewhat one-sided approach. The soap is not far away. Not to mention the slightly too obvious situations. For example, the father who regularly slaps his son is a shocking example of a simplistic approach. Blame it on the parents. The willing use of a hand-held camera and the editing that is clearly in line with the video clip style cause dizzy spells and cluttered scenes. The crucial fight on New Year’s Eve is thus completely lost in the darkness. With less urge for over-stylized images, ‘High Noon’ would have more impact and more coherent eyes. This background-deficient crash course of deviant behavior leaves the observer feeling more disgusted by the loiterers than an urge to help them.

‘High Noon’ comes across at times as a trendy and grittier version of “Beverly Hills, 90210” with admittedly better actors.