"THE MEANDERINGS OF THE MEKONG" is above anything a Zen tale. It includes lessons of life, love and wisdom. A film we dare to categorize as « a philosophic adventure ».
"THE MEANDERINGS OF THE MEKONG" is the story of Lin, a young man of 24 years, who will transform from a rebellious boy into a free and responsible man.
The major theme of the film : the passage into adulthood, and the difficult path one must take in order to grow and become a peaceful and loving man.
In order to evolve into this man, Lin will be confronted by violence, lies, injustice, and all that he despised regarding his father. He must succumb to extreme acts of violence to be rid of the unsettled past.
In this sense, "THE MEANDERINGS OF THE MEKONG" is a plea against violence, suppression, injustice and their traumatic outcomes. It is the same violence Lin will bring to his father. Lin, much like Oedipus, becomes the murderer of his own father, the messenger of death, sent to take his head…in order to take back his childhood love.
At the least, "THE MEANDERINGS OF THE MEKONG" is a critic of politics. It addresses the disregard of the lives of others and lack of humanity in regard to political decisions made during a “state of emergency”. A politically pessimistic vision, where lies and murder are common practice.
The film is poetic : nature has a dominating role. More than simple décor, it actively participates in the drama and poetry of the film, imposing its rhythm and symbolism. Violence strikes like a storm to give way to a blue sky, sadness falls like rain running down a leaf, love resonates like a flower struck by a breeze…
Having personal intentions as a practitioner and teacher of different disciplines, I wanted the film to make the audience feel the essence of the practice of martial arts, whether it be focused on combat or the conditioning of the body. That it is a life path of discovery and poetry, not of death. A practice where illumination is the opening of oneself and the ultimate realization; love.
The second major theme of the film is love. A feeling which, according to Buddha, cannot exist without comprehension. Otherwise it is just an expression of selfishness and of possession; both sources of great suffering.
A love that will be confronted by duty and obligation, a conflicting situation, but one that will win in the end, as ignorance will be defeated.
Finally,"THE MEANDERINGS OF THE MEKONG" is an evocation of death, of the impermanence of things and beings.
Just as the main character states in the beginning of the film : “Destiny comes when it will. We don’t know where it comes from nor how, we can merely ensure we are prepared to confront it, for good or ill”.
To break loose from death, one must not turn toward the past nor the future, yet live in the present; the Zen saying “the here and now”.
"THE MEANDERINGS OF THE MEKONG" will be a simple, stripped-down film, without any overstating spectacular or visual effects.
A film which draws inspiration from films like "After the Rain" by Takashi Koïzumi and “Ashes of the Time"” by Wong Kar-Waï.
The images are very aesthetic, camera movements long and well grounded, stable and posed frames. Each of these elements will bring us closer into the chaos.
The colors will be saturated, blacks and whites very contrasted, research of graphic effects for an optimal relationship of form/color, light/dark, empty/full.
The direction will follow the same path : simplicity, purity, contrast.
The writer/director overlaps two cultures. Marc-Olivier Louveau is French, Lou Ma Ho (his pseudonym) Asian by his spiritual course.
The film : the core structure of the script resonates like a Greek tragedy. The mythe of Oedipus tanslated by th hero of the film who retrieves his childhood love by killing his father.
The Odyssey : the hero endures an initiation, a journey consisting of tests and lessons which will permit him to grow and become a man.
A man capable of making his own choices.
The philosophy which nourishes the script is inspired by both faces of the mountain ; the Occidental and the Asian. Two cultural concepts which join each other in perfect harmony.
Even though they are taken from different paths, they reach the same summit.
