''Soundless Wind Chime'' ( zh, c=無聲風鈴, p=Wúshēng fēng líng) is a 2009 independent film directed by Hung Wing Kit ( zh, c=洪榮杰), starring Lu Yu Lai and Bernhard Bulling. It was a 2009 Nominee for the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

's Teddy Award.

Plot

''Soundless Wind Chime'' centers around a new

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Hong Kong from China, Ricky (Lu Yu Lai), who works as a delivery boy while living with his prostitute aunt ( Wella Zhang). He is

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...

ed by a Swiss thief, Pascal (Bernhard Bulling) who is in an abusive relationship with his

con artist A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...

boyfriend ( Hannes Lindenblatt). Deciding to leave him, Pascal has a chance encounter with Ricky and the two begin a romantic relationship. The couple struggles through good times and bad, forcing them to determine if their relationship is based on love or dependence on one another. Several years later, Ricky searches Switzerland for signs of Pascal, eventually encountering Ueli (also played by Bulling), a timid

antique store An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

owner who looks the same as Pascal, but who has a vastly different personality. As Ricky and Ueli's relationship deepens, the truth of Pascal and Ricky's relationship is unraveled as the film progresses through glimpses of the present and the past.

Cast

* Lu Yu Lai – Ricky * Bernhard Bulling – Pascal/Ueli * Marie Omlin – Sister *

Gilles Tschudi Gilles Tschudi is a Swiss actor, born in 1957. He is notable for his 2004 Swiss Film Prize for "Performance in a Supporting Role" as "Secretary Goltz" in '' Jagged Harmonies: Bach vs. Frederick II'' and for appearing in the films '' Grounding' ...

– Father * Ruth Schwegler – Mother * Wella Zhang – Auntie * Li Wai Foon – Restaurant Owner * Wong Siu Yin – Popo * Hannes Lindenblatt – Marcus * Jackie Leung – Singing Angel

Critical reception

Betty Jojo from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' called it "a beautiful and accomplished film", while ''CinemaQueer'' noted: "''Soundless Wind Chime'' is a film that requires a bit of work from its audience. Some viewers will be intrigued, others will be irritated. If you're willing to go with the flow, it's a rewarding movie." Albert Nowicki of ''Movies Room'' ranked it among the fifteen best overlooked 21st century indie films.

Accolades

In the Turin GLBT international Film Festival, Italy, the film has won the Audience Award, Nuovi sguardi (Best New Director), and a Special Jury Mention for Best Feature Film in Competition. The film has also won the Best Direction, and Best Actor (Lu Yulai) awards in the – Madrid International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2009.https://web.archive.org/web/20091113053312/http://www.lesgaicinemad.com/noticias/el-lesgaicinemad-se-despide-hasta-el-ano-proximo- 13th LesGaiCineMad In Canada, Soundless Wind Chime has won the best international feature in the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, and the Jury Award For Best Feature Film in the Image+Nation Festival Cinema LGBT Montreal. The film was featured in the 59th Annual Berlin International Film Festival and was an official nominee for the 2009 "Teddy Award."

Music

The film features an original score produced by Claudio Puntin and Insa Rudolph performed by Sepiasonic and also contains music by artist Justin McGrath as well as the song " Achoo Cha Cha" by classic Chinese singer and actress

Grace Chang Grace Chang (born 13 June 1933), known in Chinese as Ko Lan (葛蘭), is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She was a popular idol in the 1950s, especially among students and the middle class. She was a renowned Cathay Organization actress with man ...

References

External links

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Sepiasonic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soundless Wind Chime 2009 drama films 2009 films Gay-related films 2000s Cantonese-language films Chinese independent films English-language Hong Kong films English-language Swiss films 2000s German-language films Chinese LGBTQ-related films English-language Chinese films Hong Kong LGBTQ-related films 2000s Mandarin-language films Films about race and ethnicity Hong Kong independent films Swiss LGBTQ-related films 2000s English-language films 2009 multilingual films Chinese multilingual films Hong Kong multilingual films Swiss multilingual films 2000s Hong Kong films 2009 LGBTQ-related films