Have you ever wondered what a contemporary version of the “Clockwork Orange” would look like? Well, Hanmo Wu’s short film has a lot in common with Kubrick’s cult feature. But this time, the main character is not a criminal but a rebellious teenage girl addicted to the Internet and video games. ‘One More Chance‘ has, therefore, beyond the power of its strikingly expressive cinematic language, a social and ethical stake that questions the way young people relate to their families and to society. The director’s intention is not cynical or melodramatic. On the contrary, his approach, despite its critical undertones, maintains a certain equidistance in this metaphorical probing of the relationship between parents and children. It’s hard to say who is the victim of this evil machinery: the youngsters subjected to extreme “education” treatment or the parents who, desperate to set their offspring on the right path, risk losing their own humanity. What is certain is that the project captures a terrifyingly coherent world, touching on the neuralgic points of contemporary society as it explores the balance of power between the individual and an oppressive legislated system.
While his short film focuses on the issue of abuse in “rehabilitation” centres for disobedient youths, the director is, in fact, delivering a manifesto about individual freedom. In doing so, he condenses into his project a dystopia that reflects many dark events from the past of totalitarian countries. The impact is all the stronger when we realise that Hanmo Wu is, in fact, inspired by very recent events behind the walls of such institutions designed to “tame” rebellious young spirits. The prison atmosphere emanating from the short film is brutal, suffocating and immersive, and the talent with which the director orchestrates this universal questioning of the human condition confined by the barriers of the system is compelling in its suggestiveness. ‘One More Chance’ is certainly a project that will remain in the mind of the viewer for a long time, confronted with a bleak panorama of a world that is heading vertiginously towards alienation.
For the expressiveness and authenticity with which it illustrates the dystopia of a world whose freedom is annihilated by the System, ‘One More Chance’ was awarded the 2nd Film of the Month distinction in the May 2024 edition of TMFF.
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