Following her release, Willow makes her way through life while trying to maintain her sobriety, deal with her abilities, and survive as an artist.
Written and directed by Karen Lam, The Curse of Willow Song is one of those films that requires, and deserves, to be paid attention to. This is not a “put it on and mindlessly let it run” type of film. There is a lot there even when the viewer might not think so at first. The film is shot in black and white, giving it an old school character study look which helps bring the viewer in and then the story and characters keep them in. The writing here is solid, the story won’t for everyone, but if an artistic takes on life as an artist, an ex-convict, and someone with powers is in any way something of interest, this film will grab you and bring you in. The lead character in particular is beautifully written, with a sadness of course given the story and her background, but still written in a way that is just right and also the right way for the story here. The directing itself shows a connection to the material (Lam did both writing and directing duties here after all) with just the right touches here and there. Lam knows how to bring out the right performances for her stories and this film shows that very well.
The cast here is led by Valerie Tian as Willow Song. Tian shows she is the perfect choice for the part early on into the film, showing that she has the talent to bring nuance to a character many would have performed more bluntly. She gives Willow something deep, a sadness as mentioned above, something extra beyond the character description and the story logline. She makes Willow into a fully fleshed person, not just a character, not a caricature. She takes the character, makes it hers, and runs with it in a a way that shows emotions when needed, shows subtlety at other times. Her performance is one of the main reasons to watch this film. Of course, the rest of the cast also does quite well, but Tian is not simply the lead here, she’s the star. Also needing mention are Elfina Luk as Dani and Ingfrid Nilson as Flea. Both giving very different performances, both performances being on point.
The film cinematography here is something that needs to be mentioned because it is stunning. The work by director of photography Thomas Billingsley here is just beautiful. The images are carefully framed, the black and white is just the right balance, the camera movements show that a talented hand was involved. The film looks stunning in large part because of the work by Billingsley.
The Curse of Willow Song has some horror/scifi aspects to it, but it feels like it’s not really the main aspect here. The film is all about Willow and her life, how she deals with things, how she survives. Yes, one of these things is psychokinetic ability (and there are monsters involved in a way), the film feels more like a character study done on the dark side. It’s a solid film with a very artistic approach. The film is beautiful, but it’s also dark and needs to be so for the story. It’s one of those films that will either grab you and make you a part of it or leave you completely cold (which will be a shame really).