Back at it for another installment of Letterboxd Map! This week we’re off to Myanmar for Nina Wu (2019).
Title: Nina Wu
Director: Midi Z
Released: May 20, 2019 (Premiere – Cannes Film Festival – France)
Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
We follow Nina (Wu Ke-xi) from the train to her home and then around her home while she cooks, eats, and later prepares herself for a stream. The first five and a half minutes are silent as we’re just observing.
As a struggling actress, she’s doing whatever she can to make ends meet. While starting her stream, she gets a call from her agent. A role has come through but with a catch. There is full-frontal and an explicit sex scene. Nina isn’t sure how she feels about doing such a scene but also understands that there’s a line of women behind her who would jump at the chance to take the role.
She goes through with the audition and crushes it. The next time we see Nina she’s on set during production. The further into production the film gets, the more Nina begins to realize how demanding a performance this is going to be, and that’s not even including the sex scenes.
She sees that in order to achieve stardom, you must go through hell. And being a woman only makes that road harder.
Wu Ke-xi wrote and starred in this as Nina. I liked the overall story but it was missing something. We’re never really given a reason to invest in Nina and whether or not she makes it. Sure, you want to see her overcome the obstacles laid before her, but you’re never given that emotional hook that makes you care whether or not she’s actually successful.
Despite that, there is enough going on around Nina to keep you intrigued.
Where Nina Wu shines is from a technical standpoint. Both the cinematography and sound design are true standouts. Whether it’s footsteps, cucumbers being placed on Nina’s eyes, or the sound of a phone vibrating, every sound is crystal clear and made to feel prominent as if it’s as crucial as anything else in the film. The way shots are blocked and lit, and how crisp everything looks, it’s a visual treat.
That being said, Nina Wu isn’t one I see myself revisiting anytime soon.