The Last Time I Saw Macao - too many experiments wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

The Last Time I Saw Macao may be the strangest film I saw at this year’s EIFF (though it has strong competition from Taboor).  It was slightly hampered by the fact that the sound was not working for the first 20 minutes or so, and I wasn't sure if the directors had chosen to keep the voices off screen in the way they did with faces or if it was in fact a mistake – given how important sound was to the atmosphere of the film as it progresses, it was a big mistake.  It probably did prevent me from getting into the film early on as I maybe needed to but I’m not sure that isn't the whole reason I didn't fully engage with the film.

The narrative of the film is actually in the narration, as an unseen Portuguese man tells of a strange and dark story when he returns to Macao to help a friend.  The visuals are presented in a weird sort of travelogue style, almost as if we are watching someone’s odd holiday slide show as he tells us the story over the top.  Events happen off screen – the scene presented as an empty stage or on the other side of a door or wall and we merely hear them happen or are told that they have just occurred.  It works in some cases and not in others.  Letting the viewer fill in their own gaps can of course be a brilliant film making technique that draws the audience in, but perhaps needs to be more sparingly as it felt like we had to do too much of the work.  The problem too is this is coupled with unseen characters (so you’re never sure whose hand is whose etc) and a vague and opaque plot – all three together are a bit alienating.

There are some really interesting tonal elements – montages of visual and audio that create a distinct moment or feeling but they never feel knotted together as one film.  I am definitely not against film makers doing something different and using a defined style but it has to be in service of the film itself and what these stylistic choices do to increase the viewers’ understanding, emotion or engagement.  The Last Time I Saw Macao felt imprisoned rather than liberated by the stylistic choices.  It feels like there was a really interesting film trapped in there but despite several stunning instances of brave visual or sound choices, there was too much experimentation going on to let something meaningful through.