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Est. Reading Time: 4 Minutes

MARK (M) Tell us a little about yourself - when did you become interested in film and filmmaking?

MEI LIU (ML) I became interested in films very early on, I remember feeling like it might be something I could do after watching Adaptation (2002) when I was 14 years old.

On The Opening

M I love the film’s opening sequence, I think it’s so effective in establishing the main character’s world. The opening frame is particularly beautiful and poignant as the main character drives alone in a straight line while several people nearby skate around one another.

Please tell us a little about how the opening sequence establishes the mood and tone of your film through composition, pacing and stillness?

ML Thank you! I think the pacing was influenced by the slow cinema that I loved watching at the time of making the film. The slow pacing became the only thing that made sense to the film as it reflects the life of the protagonist - slow, lonesome and uneventful.

M Which slow films were you watching at the time of making Happy Ending?

ML Films by Tsai Ming-Liang and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who I adore in their respective cinematic languages.

On Cinematography

M It was very interesting to notice the camera move for the first time when the main character’s looking for the massage parlour. I feel like the change in camera movement nicely reflects the change within the main character’s routine and inner world.

Please tell us about your approach to the film’s shooting style? And how does the evolution of camera movement complement and facilitate the main character’s journey and themes of the film?  

ML My cinematographer Fanchao Meng did a good job designing the shots and camera movements. We wanted the camera to get closer and closer inside the character’s inner world. Although after the shoot, we both felt like we should have gone a lot closer with the close-ups, especially during the massage scene.

On The Ending

M After my second viewing, I realised that when the main character says ‘thank you’, it’s his first and only word throughout the entire film. It struck me as a symbolic moment of shared understanding between two people who are opposites in many ways, in terms of gender, personality, race and stature.

I know you may not want to delve into this too deeply but can you please touch on meaning and symbolism within the film’s ending?  

ML There are moments in life that pierce through your routine interactions with people and make you realize your rehearsed set of words no longer fit, and that your curated version of self no longer feels truthful. These moments feel like little tunnels that provide glimpses of truth in everyone we encounter, especially against a metropolitan backdrop like New York. With the ending specifically, I attempt to capture a moment of empathy that transcends language, race and culture. The moment is so fleeting yet hopefully leaves a mark on both characters and their routine life.

On Process & Discovery

M In making and finishing the film, what did you discover and learn that you might adopt or further explore in future projects?

ML Thematically, the unlikely human connections formed under special circumstances are explored in my current projects, and will be explored in my future projects too. I will also continue building an emotional experience through somewhat enigmatic characters.

On Inspiration

M What are some of the films and who are some of the filmmakers that inspire you, and why?

ML Eternally - Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Currently - Jafar Panahi, John Cassavetes, Mike Leigh, Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

On The Future

M What are you planning to make next?

S I am currently shooting a feature film about a chameleon-like 17-year-old girl. There’s no pre-written script, just a DV camera, long shooting period and lots of improvisations. It’s an attempt to form stories on actual locations and form relationships between real people. So it’s pretty much the opposite of Happy Ending in terms of the filming process.

Mark’s Final Thoughts

• As I mentioned in our interview, I think the film’s ending is really sweet. It caught me by surprise initially so I had to watch it again. I love the fact that Mei chose the word ‘thank you’ to symbolise empathy and shared understanding.

• I think it’s cool that she's experimenting and adopting a completely different approach for her next project, I’m excited to see how it turns out.

• And I've only recently learned about Apichatpong Weerasethakul in anticipation of his new film Memoria (2021), so I look forward to catching up with his previous work.

  Tags Cinematography  Drama Live-action

The founder of Hommage, Mark Shaba published this interview on 17.11.2021. Mark is a filmmaker from Victoria, Australia. He respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners of the land on which he creates, promotes and screens art, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation who are the custodians.