Flora Lau explores the way human intimacy intersects with technology through the dream-like virtual reality world of "LUZ". Set across Chonqing, Hong Kong, and Paris, the film is saturated with hues that complement the personalities of each of these vibrant cities. LUZ weaves together the fragmented lives of its characters in a way that is both profoundly intimate and visually breathtaking.
The parallel storylines of a father searching for his estranged daughter and a daughter attempting to aid her ailing stepdaughter is profoundly intimate. I left the theater with a renewed sense of what it means to heal frayed family relationships. Each of the cast members displayed a distinct character that jumped out through the screen. Isabelle Huppert perfectly captures a c'est la vie mindset when her character is faced with terminal illness. Meanwhile, Sandrine's performance as a concerned yet aloof stepdaughter is conveyed through her unique chemistry with Huppert.
Benjamin Echazarreta's cinematography swiftly transported me between surreality and reality in my seat at the theater. The ending scene set in Chongqing left me both devastated and strangely hopeful. Overall, LUZ serves as a meditation on memory, a love letter to lost connections, and a reminder of the unbreakable threads that tie us to one another, even across time and space.
