Eve and the Fire Horse

 

 

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In my view, one of the wonders of Nature is the child actor. Having raised two of my own, the idea that a child will accept direction is novel enough. That children can respond, showing dazzling talent doing so, is little short of miraculous. Julia Kwan's ability to maneuver the two children of this film bespeaks either superior talents, or theirs. Likely both. A stunning film exercise, with disturbing questions asked throughout, this is a fine example of the innovative filmmaker's art.

The story tells of a Chinese family, not yet a generation as immigrants in Vancouver. The matriarch is a kindly Grandma, who clearly dotes on the younger daughter, Eve. The older sister, Karena, remains distant, but the two sisters enjoy each other's company, as the opening scenes convey. Buddhist and Confucian traditions are a major element in all their lives, but the outside world looms increasingly close. The almost stereotypical example is the family's communication in the house, with the girls directing comments in English to the parents, who respond in Chinese. Kwan is meticulous in handling that first cross-cultural inroad. The girls, of course, attend an English speaking school, not a Chinese-language one.

A crisis, prompted by May Lin's (the children's mother) cutting down an apple tree, arises with the death of Grandma, which prompts questions of what happens in the afterlife. In Buddhist tradition, the dead may reappear on the seventh day, and sure enough, Grandma is seen by Eve, but by nobody else in the family. Reincarnation, a fundamental facet of Asian societies, leads Eve's mother, played by the stunning Vivian Wu, to bring Eve a goldfish. The manifestation of Grandma in the fish will be hilarious to a Western audience, but has serious meaning for Eve. Such inhabited bodies are avatars, and properly treated, protect their "owners". Eve, as will be seen, needs all the protection she can get.

Karena, feeling a stronger need to assimilate into Western society, enters the Roman Catholic Church, dragging a reluctant and confused Eve in with her. The training is intense, of course, with all other gods simply dismissed out of hand. Karena buys into this fully, while Eve remains unconvinced. And why not, since she's the one who has seen how it works? The inevitable crisis occurs, however. Karena, as is all too common with converts has come to reject all her traditions, refuses to honour the ancestral gods. Eve cannot comprehend the unassailable fixity of Karena's new outlook, but cannot reject her sister. The situation leads to a bizarre set of scenes - Karena's bathtub baptism of Eve is a white-knuckle episode, but events resolve themselves in the finale.

This is not always an easy film to watch, but the techniques of scene-setting as manifestations of the cultural conflicts are captivating. May-lin, the mother, as confused as much as Eve about the Jesus myth, decides to simply add him to her panoply of gods and goddess figures. The result of this decision is the visual high point of the film! A gripping story, exquisitely depicted, give this film your attention. It deserves it. [stephen a. haines]

Like "My Life as a Dog," "Eve and the Fire Horse" presents a view of the world from a child's perspective. While "Eve" is not quite as poignant as Lasse Hallstrom's classic film in its depictions of childhood, "Eve" is the only other film I can think of that rises to the same level of artistry. That in itself is high praise. But what distinguishes "Eve" from "My Life," is that the movie ambitiously tackles the greater theme of childhood spirituality, and with great success. While Hallstrom's movie represents a triumph of humanism, properly considered, Shum's film represents a triumph of faith.

As the previous reviewer mentioned, this film portrays two girls' spiritual journey from Confucianism/Buddhism to Christianity/Catholicism. What sets this film apart from many other religious films is that all religions and religious people are presented sympathetically. What sets this film apart from most secular films is that all of the characters are presented lovingly, sympathetically and fairly. There are no caricatures in this film. This is strikingly evident in the scene where the girls encounter two door-to-door Protestant evangelists who introduce the girls to Jesus. Thankfully, the typical, cynical, anti-fundamentalist joke never comes. The evangelists are simply presented as two men sincerely interested in sharing their love for Jesus.

This "chance" (really, providential) encounter with followers of Jesus awakens the heart of the older sister, who is obviously pre-disposed toward accepting an explicit call to the faith; what Catholics would call "actual grace." We see the action of this grace unfold in the sisters' lives in confused, profound and tender ways. Most of the film regards the girls' spiritual development and its effect on the people surrounding them.

As the previous reviewer expressed so well, (the note regarding Jesus ironing and Buddha reclining was very perceptive) I have never seen such a convincing and unpatronizing depiction of childhood faith on film.

As a postscript, I feel obligated to call people's attention to the few misrepresentations of the Catholic faith that appear in the film. While it should be fairly obvious to most viewers that these misrepresentations are largely the result of a childlike understanding of Catholicism, at one point in the film, a nun makes a statement that could be construed as "only Catholics can be saved." This mistaken belief is worth addressing. This has never been the teaching of the Church. Catholics believe that non-Christians who serve the Truth to the best of their abilities and knowledge, can be saved, while it is also true that this salvation comes through the Church, specifically, through the graces that flow through Christ's Church as a result of his redemptive suffering and death on the Cross. While grace normally flows through the sacraments, God is not bound by the sacraments, and grace may flow elsewhere, in other ways, through other people and through other religions. Truth is truth, wherever it is found. It seems clear to me that Shum knows this and, in fact, desires to share this truth, as in the scene where the mother comes to the realization that both Christians and Confucians believe in honoring one's mother and father, and in the depiction of Jesus and Buddha dancing together in one of Eve's flight of fancy. For all we know, Jesus and Buddha may be dancing in heaven today.

Again, a highly recommended and edifying movie for all ages. (A depiction of a miscarriage may require parental guidance).

I own more than 2,500 DVDs related in some way to kids, and this one has to be among the top three from a traditional values, people of faith point of view. It is also at the top from a cultural point of view. This is the story of two sisters living in a Chinese community within Vancouver, Canada. It gives an excellent picture of the minds of young girls raised within a Buddhist faith as they encounter the beliefs of Christianity, in this case Catholicism. Some of the doctrines the movie presents as Catholic are somewhat lacking; however, it must be remembered that the movie is told from the point of view of the younger sister. At some points I laughed out loud at the girl's interpretation of a doctrine or dogma (and, after seeing thousands of movies, I rarely find anything new that is that truly amusing)!

Although this movie is not sold as a 'Christian movie,' if I was going to make a movie with a Christian message, this is the way I would do it. First, it is notably respectful of Buddhism, but it does make extremely subtle comparisons with Christianity. For example, the girl's mother at one point says that she meditates for hours, staring at a single point on the wall, then wonders why she can't experience the simple faith of her two little girls with their childish understanding of Catholicism.

Part of the climax of this movie is a scene where the girls decide Eve need to be baptized. Eve feels that many of the unpleasant things that have happened to her family is because she told a lie. So, the sisters decide to do it in the bath tub. I won't say what actually happens (I'll save it for you to see!), but my conclusion is that it is symbolic of the 'death' of the old self and the 'birth' of the new person as taught in Catholic theology to be what happens spiritually in baptism.

I can't say how Buddhists would view this movie, but from a Christian perspective, and especially from a Catholic perspective, I have never seen a better movie dealing with Spirituality - especially of children's Spirituality. The only reservation I have about this film is that it may be 'too Catholic' by having the girl's choir sing a Marian song in one scene. I would have preferred to see a more general Christian song that would be equally acceptable to Protestants.

This movie is also filled with subtle visual messages. For example, they show in one scene (actually in the child's imagination) Buddha is lounging in thought on the sofa, while Jesus stands at an ironing board, ironing clothes. Of course, Buddha tought meditation and Jesus taught service to others.

So, I conclude by saying that this movie is easily among the top two or three in my collection of over 2,500 DVDs for kids or about kids! In fact, I bought two extra copies so I could loan them out to people who would like to see the movie. So far, every one who has seen it was both captivated by this movie and happy they saw it!

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