Unconventional film unexpectedly delightful

By Alan Charlton

Ever since the days of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and, later on, Sandra Dee and Frankie Avalon, there have been movies aimed at young girls.

While EVE & THE FIRE HORSE is not likely to attract the audience of the teeny-bopper crowd, one wishes that at least some of them would see it, for few films are as unconventional, and even fewer so unexpectedly delightful.

Filmed in Vancouver and set in the 1970’s, it is told from the viewpoint of the central character, Eve (Phoebe Kut), the younger daughter of a Chinese family. Eve introduces the viewers to a world which is part superstitious, part Buddhist, and, as the film progresses, part Catholic.

The superstitious part gets the film started as Eve states that at one time she would have been drowned by her parents at birth because it was thought that girls born in the year of the Fire Horse would grow up to be too rebellious, so that it was expedient not to allow them to live. Though the family is purportedly Buddhist, this element of superstition is reinforced when Eve’s mother cuts down an apple tree growing in the garden and blames a later miscarriage on this.

At the same time, the family sees itself as Buddhist – they do participate in several rituals associated with the religion – though it becomes apparent that their allegiance to Buddhism is rather shallow.

Eve, growing up in this world, is confronted with such events as the tragedy of her grandmother’s death. She blames herself for this as her grandmother collapses while watering the garden, a task Eve should have been doing.

Eve and her older sister, Karena (Hollie Lo), are later attracted to the Christian faith when door-to-door Evangelists leave them a book, and they start attending Catholic Sunday School. Gaining a decidedly inaccurate view of Catholicism, the two little girls decide to pursue holiness. Her parents make no objection, on the basis that two gods are better than one.

Soon statues of Buddhist gods are positioned next to a crucifix in the family shrine, while the two girls attempt to come to terms with a variety of issues.

Their father is asked to donate a kidney to his brother, who has hitherto scorned his lack of success. A Sikh schoolmate subjected to racism inflicts the same on them in return. Eve is subjected to spiritual bullying by her churchgoing classmates, who make her swear on the Bible (on pain of death) never to lie again. Their mother suffers post-miscarriage depression.

At the same time, Eve lives also in a world of fantasy and imagination, picturing the Buddha and Jesus dancing together, and picturing a Buddhist goddess doing household chores, because she is made to feel redundant in other areas in a world in which Jesus gains dominance.

All of this is narrated skillfully and poetically by writer-director Julia Kwan, who bases much of the film on her own childhood. What is remarkable is that she has been to capture so coherently the vision and language of a little girl, a little girl who believes that her grandmother is reincarnated as a goldfish and who also is so anxious to be baptized that she allows her sister to immerse her in the bathtub.

As Eve attempts to understand and, above all, to explain the mysteries of life with which she is confronted, the audience is brought fully into her world.

As a sociological document, EVE & THE FIRE HORSE is intriguing. As a statement ultimately about the positive elements of all religions, it runs counter to many movies released today which seem intent only on showing the negatives of religion. As a film about the puzzling world of childhood, it is often quite lovely and hilarious.

There are some sections which drag a little, as they seem to be somewhat redundant, but it should be noted that the film was awarded the Grand Jury prize at Sundance and has been widely acclaimed for its originality. This gentle gem of a movie, brilliantly acted by a cast of unknowns, is certainly one which should not be missed, especially by young girls, who could learn a great deal from it.

The B.C. rating is PG. Warning: coarse language, bullying.

* * * * *

Had the makers of AQUAMARINE been a little more courageous, the same might well have been said about it.

Following in the footsteps of such movies as MIRANDA and SPLASH, AQUAMARINE is about a mermaid. In this case she gets washed ashore and lands in a pool at a Florida beach resort as she attempts to escape from an arranged marriage.

There she is befriended by two 13-year-old girls who happen to have a crush on a lifeguard. To their dismay, they discover that the mermaid, to avoid the marriage, has to get someone to say, “I love you” within three days so that she can convince her father that love exists. It falls to them to persuade the lifeguard to fall in love with the mermaid.

What follows is to some extent a predictable teenage romance. It does, however, make some amusing comments on adolescent girls. Their predilection for following the advice of teenage-oriented magazines, the way they play the game of flirting, and their passion for shopping all become the source of some amusing satirical scenes.

However the film doesn’t seem to know whether romance or satire is its main concern, and it confuses things even more as it attempts to deal with the kinds of choices that teenage girls often face: problems with changing life situations, loss of parents, and so on. While none of these are profoundly treated, the film does at least have the merit of raising these issues.

While I am totally unfamiliar with the leading players (Sara Paxton as Aquamarine the mermaid and Emma Roberts and Joanna “JoJo” Levesque as her friends, with Jake McDorman as the required hunk) I gather that they are not entirely unknown to the young girls for whom the film is made.

While not likely to have much appeal to any males or any females over the age of 15, at least AQUAMARINE is a film to which parents can send their adolescent daughters without any fear that they will be corrupted.

Because of some mild sensuality, innuendo, and a few crass expressions, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG – parental guidance suggested; some material may not be suitable for children. The B.C. rating is General.