‘Love is a Gun’ REVIEW: Poetic in its ambience but confused in the path that it draws for itself
‘Love is a Gun’ REVIEW: Poetic in its ambience but confused in the path that it draws for itself
Inevitable fates, reconciliations, and a young man with a troubled history who refuses to give up are the foundations of Love is a Gun. Drenched with noir influences and fueled by the strong voice of its director. The film marks the directorial debut of renowned Taiwanese actor Lee Hong-Chi. Known for his roles in films such as Long Day’s Journey into Night and Cities in Last Things, Love is a Gun is a mournful yet amusing character study that takes heavily from the opulence of stories that revolve in the gloomy and bleak confines of the crime world.
Having worked with acclaimed filmmakers such as Bi Gan, Lee Hong-Chi delivers a film that emerges from the post-pandemic world, brooding in cynicism—subdued yet feral, dispirited, and melancholic. Love is a Gun tells the story of an ex-convict who is determined to start over after being released from prison, but his stormy past comes back to haunt him, involving a gun he can’t get rid of.
With its composed, long takes, the film is most engaging when it delves into the conditions of youth in contemporary Taiwan, highlighting issues such as securing a steady job, the dreaded reality of mortgages, and financial problems. Although it tries to delve into these issues, its narrative becomes more elusive and difficult to follow, particularly in its second half.
The issue is not on its loose narrative, but more so on how it lacks emotionality and how it's unable to convey the subtleties and nuances of its characters. Its lyrically fragmented passages seem hollow and empty, with subtexts that aren’t really conveyed well in the film. Certain sequences felt too derivative in some respects, and the more you look into its script, the more you notice the director’s unclear vision—scenes with questionable editing choices, and ideas that are introduced but never explored in depth.
Although intriguing in its narrative and beautiful in its visual composition, Love is a Gun is confused in the path it draws for itself and seems to get lost in its concept and narrative progression. Even in its poetic ambience, the film feels scattered almost all throughout, with conflicts that don’t feel valuable nor resounding after it’s all over. But even with all these issues, I think its ending still makes this poetic journey a worthwhile experience.
And despite its flaws, there’s still a lot of merit to give in to this film, especially for a directorial debut. You can sense that Lee Hong-Chi has a vision and visual style albeit not still being fully realized, I think there’s still more from him to offer in terms of being a filmmaker and he is one to watch out for.
Even though Love is a Gun is by far from redefining the neo-noir genre, there is still something enthralling about a forlorn man desperately in pursuit of rewriting his fate.
Love is a Gun was screened at QCinema 2023 as part of the Asian Next Wave category.
