white building: REVIEWS BY YIFM
30 March 2022
EAFFI: Young Irish Filmmakers & Young Irish Critics
The Young Irish Critics initiative aims to create a more informal education space for young people to engage with international and youth-authored/classic and independent cinema (film and animation). We are publishing reviews of selected films so keep an eye out for their work on our website and social media. With thanks to all at YIFM and Young Irish Critics for collaborating with us for 2022 and beyond!
See more reviews by the Young Critics on Sonder. There are reviews and podcasts from VMDIFF 2021 as well as reviews written for HER International Film Festival 2021: https://sondersite.wixsite.com/sonder/reviews
The Young Irish Critics reviewed White Building by Dir KAVICH NEANG. Read the reviews below.
Orizzonti Award, Best Actor, Venice International Film Festival 2021
90 MINS, CAMBODIA-FRANCE-CHINA-QATAR, 2021, SUBTITLED
Screening as part of the 6th East Asia Film Festival Ireland at the Irish Film Institute Saturday 2 April 2022 at 16.00 and via IFI@Home
Amy McFarland
The film opens with a stunning overhead tracking shot of the apartment block that the story centres around, displaying the buzzing life and bright colours that surround it. This contrasts the low angled, handheld shots at the end, that depicts the building as it is being demolished, devoid of all the life that had been there previously. Kavich Neang’s ‘White Buildings’ uses subtle visual parallels like this throughout the film to display the ever changing environment the characters are situated in, such as the imagery used in both opening shots of the second and third acts.
In terms of the structure, the film is distinctively divided into three parts, each with their own title: Blessing, Spirit House and Monsoon. This creates a very clear before, during and after as Samnang experiences the loss of his family home. His focus on his friends and their upcoming dance competition draws us in in the first part. The fun, youthful atmosphere acting as a distraction while people begin to move out of the building. It only really hits Samnang when his friend announces that he is moving to France with his family. This is the point at which the film changes completely and, once into the second act, Samnang’s family become the focal point of the story. While the first part was the most enjoyable segment of the film, it perfectly sets up the audience to empathise with Samnang as a more serious tone is taken.
The father becomes a stand out character as the story progresses. His quiet intelligence and authority makes it understandable as to why he is the ‘Chief’, in charge of trying to negotiate a reasonable rate of compensation for those living in the building. Despite trying, his age and health catch up with him. The comparison that can be made between him and the building itself add an extra layer to the narrative. The building is old and is in dire need for repair but the price is too high. Similarly Samnang’s father needs an operation to remove his toe due to an infection, which he sees as a con from the doctors and an unnecessary expense. In the end, the building is demolished and the father loses his whole leg.
Douglas Seok’s cinematography is amazing throughout the film, creating many memorable images for the audience to leave with. In particular the depth of the shots taken in the hallways of the apartments are stunning and the night time scenes always work to show the beauty of Phnom Penh.
The passage of time within ‘White Buildings’ is sometimes unclear. When it feels like only a day has passed for the characters it will suddenly become apparent that it has been a week. Occasionally this became distracting as it was hard to tell where we were in the story and how much could have already changed. However this can be seen to add to the uncertainty of the families future. In conclusion, ‘White Buildings’ gives a window into Samnang’s life in a way that feels authentic, with stand out secondary character and beautiful cinematography.
Adam Van Eekeren
The film White Building by director Kavich Neang follows the turbulent life of a young Cambodian boy as his family deals with the building they live in being sold, and the inevitability of having to find (and afford) a new home. This bittersweet coming of age film utilises this darker underlying plot to showcase the loss of innocence in our main character, the sad and sudden transition to adulthood he must face.
Undoubtedly the strongest aspect of this film lies in the technical filmmaking. Not only does it successfully illuminate the slums of Cambodia through the camera, but it creates a closeness to this narrative very seldom seen. The consistent use of still, or very slow and menial, camera movement allows us to sit with the characters through every conversation. The use of close ups and the framing of the camera compliment the close intimacy that is needed to show these characters.
Unfortunately, the narrative side of this film feels extremely shorthanded. The plot is lacking in any clear set of goals or objectives for the characters. This means the film often feels incredibly slow moving, it is rarely clear where the plot might go, or where the film wants it to go. Thematically there are plot points that help showcase the transition this main character makes from childhood to adulthood. However, the lack of a clear, structured, and flowing narrative makes it very difficult to relate to this change in any real way.
The film also fails to act as a thoroughly engaging character study. The film intensely follows the life of Samnang played by Piseth Chhun. However, despite the large amount of camera time boasted by the character, he still felt as foreign to me by the final moments as he was at the beginning. There is little to no development of this character in the duration of the film. This is a crying shame because the performance by Chhun is delightful. Working with the limited material given to him, he illuminates this character in a sensationally entertaining fashion. His facial expressions and reactions are consistently a place of laughter, joy and heartbreak for the film. Chhuns performance for me brought some much-needed life into a script that seemed void of much personality and he was a highlight of the film for me.
In summation The White Building works on a thematic level very well. It is clearly artistically inspired, and it boasts a beautiful technical presentation. The lack of any strong narrative or character building really makes the film difficult to relate to or at times enjoy. The story really leans on Chhun’s performance as a clutch, this results in a story that is frustratingly slow moving and difficult to lose yourself in. This is unfortunate as there’s an array of fantastic qualities on show here, lost in a story that is void of much life, personality, or intrigue.
Leone Fierito White
White Building cultivates a normal atmosphere in a culture that is completely new to me and possibly many other Irish audience members. Our story opens with three best friends: Samnang (our main character and protagonist played by Piseth Chhun), Ah Kha (Chinnaro Soem) and Tol (Sovann Tho) going about their lives, interacting playfully with the world around them. It becomes evident early on that they face hardships, the biggest (and the basis of our story) being the possible demolition of their home, Phnom Penh.
The most captivating aspect of this film, in my opinion, has to be the sound. Sound designer Vincent Villa, and indeed the entire sound department could not possibly receive enough praise for their seamless use of silence, sound and white noise to convey the sense that you are watching real life play out on screen. The script was well written by both Kavich Neang and Daniel Mattes but balanced with a lack of dialogue in certain scenes throughout, truly creating the feeling that you are an observer to Samnang in particular. In everyday life, when sitting in someone’s company, it is unreasonable to assume speech is a constant and even more bizarre to assume that as humans our only method of communication is verbal. It is clear that director Kavich Neang understands this also, as seen by the exceptional performance from all actors involved.
Watching White Building will immerse you in Samnangs story until you almost believe you were in the movie yourself.
Marco Galeazzi
White Building by Cambodian director Kavich Neang skillfully tells the intersecting stories of Samnang’s (20) everyday life as an impoverished adolescent in Phnom Penh, alongside the destruction of his apartment complex in the center of Cambodia’s capital city. While personal trifles of youth and family make up the foreground of this narrative structure, we are introduced to a larger social critique on the inevitable consequences of urbanization and gentrification, which as a result highlights the large generational gap in beliefs and mentality. The film shows the different ways in which Samnang and his parents deal with the imminent changes to their lives and it is to no avail that Samnang looks for open emotional conversations with them, who believe acknowledging the dire situation would only worsen it. Their mistrust of all things modern also seeps into their attitude towards medicine, ultimately causing the amputation of his father’s foot due to the belated treatment of his diabetes. However, their generation’s, albeit ignorantly superstitious, handlings of such domestic issues shouldn’t be judged too prematurely. Modernity is what is causing the destruction of their beloved homes and neighborhoods and so they cannot be entirely blamed for their overt skepticism towards contemporary methods that challenge the cultural beliefs embedded in their ways of thinking.
The portrayal of domestic life in Phnom Penh, at least Samnang’s personal experience of it, is beautifully executed as one gets a real sense of the limits that poverty sets for him and his friends. The cinematography resembles carefully composed paintings, always conveying an eerie sense of peace: a calm before the storm that is the building’s final destruction.
Furthermore, it is through Samnang that we gain insight into the uneven socio-economic differences that plague the city and often find ourselves feeling like we’re “outside looking in” at the alluring possibilities that money could bring. This feeling is repeatedly accentuated by the visual depiction of Samnang standing on the periphery of desired places and things, as well as vivid imagery wherein his frigid exclusion contrasts the warm colors and atmospheres of his longings.
Though the film’s title promises to tell Samnang and his family’s personal story about their apartment building and its importance in their lives, it feels like we are never fully granted that intimate insight. Instead of inducing empathy for the loss of their home, we’re instead left feeling, as we so often are during the film, frustrated and angry at the capitalist system that produces gentrification and socio-economic imbalances. However, maybe it never was Neang’s intention to completely allow this intimate connection, but instead to reproduce the impersonal treatment by these large corporations and show us that this is just one of many similar stories, therefore merely another product of such circumstances.
To conclude, I believe this film successfully functions as a hybrid between fiction and documentary, whose message can have enlighteningly disruptive effects not only among the communities of Phnom Penh, but among any community affected by the despairing transformations that urbanization and gentrification cause.
Thomas Lynch
During the end credits of “White Building”, cinematographer Douglas Seok is the first person after the director that is credited. Although an initially odd decision, one can see why this was chosen, as Seok’s sun soaked cinematography is by far the best feature of the film. Seok’s cinematograpy not only captures the harsh reality of the film but also gives it an ambient, haunting quality that is impossible to take your eyes off.
“White Building”, Cambodia’s official entry for the best foreign picture Oscar, is a strongly political, well meaning, but ultimately flawed film. Possessing the rare flaw of being too short, director Kavich Neang spends a lot of the opening of the film introducing certain characters and premises that are sadly not explored to their full attention. In particular, our protagonist Samnang’s attempt at winning a talent show with his dance group offers the film a lot of new thematic territories that unfortunately remain uninhabited. A mid film introduction to Samnang’s father means that certain emotional moments don’t hit the big cathartic target that they’re aiming to hit.
Flaws aside, “White Building” is still a film that perfectly balances its kitchen sink tone with its heavy political messages. The film never shies away from showing the grim side of Samnang’s life. One particular scene involving a visit to the hospital is shown in all its brutal, cringe inducing glory.
“White Building” is a film that refuses to wear its politics on its sleeves. It’s mesmerizing cinematography and hard-hitting political messages will stay with you, even if its characters may not.
Victor Quach
In “White Building” Neang takes us on a journey of change and gentrification in such a confident manner that it is easy to see why the Chinese Auteur Jia Zhang-ke joined the production as a co-producer. With a prominent, yet growing voice, Neang takes us on a promising, yet at times underwhelming journey about this childhood home.
Where Neang shines, however, is in his presentation of Cambodian culture and family. The film is very clearly an authentic look into the life of Cambodians and South-East Asian culture. From the karaoke to the spirituality and family relationships there was not a single moment where I found myself unengaged with the world presented in “White Building”. Samnang’s relationship with his parents never felt like the filmmakers had come in and intruded on its dynamic. It felt raw and vulnerable in the way Samnang was unable to confront them about any issues, even when he felt like he could have created some sort of change. There was a level of dismissiveness to the parents’ behaviour which created a realistic look into South-East Asian parenting. Through this, Neang criticises the parenting style and society at large for not listening to the younger generation even when they might have the solution for change. Samnang knows that what his parents are doing and their mentality will lead to more misfortune, but he is not heard. Wonderfully, Neang shows how the youth (as well as the poor) are silenced within the conversation of societal change and progress.
Despite this, the presentation and direction of the film made the story feel more like a vessel to highlight the director’s talent rather than a compelling story by itself. While the importance of the White Building was apparent, the reason why this particular building was so important, outside of every other building being too expensive, was never fully felt. The issue of gentrification stood heavily in the film, yet it was also very clear that the director wanted to tell a story about this building in particular. No matter how beautifully cinematographer Douglas Seok photographs the building and the city of Phnom Penh, as an audience when we are never directly or indirectly told about the history of the building itself, making it hard to understand the gravity of losing the building on a sentimental level.
While it is clear that the story of the white building is personal to Neang, “White Building” comes off as a film meant to show his talents in presentation and understanding of human emotion, with the story itself taking too much of a backseat for the film not to feel misdirected. No matter how confident that misdirection might be. Neang's style might feel understated in a film with such large and complex emotions due to its reserved and calm nature. Occasionally it tends to work in the film’s favour, other times the story of the film finds itself lost in its presentation.
