Chosen

Our protagonist, The Driver, as we know him, starts out by picking up a young Tibetan boy in an abandoned New York dock. Shortly after the pickup, however, he is met by two other cars with hostile intent. The Driver manages to elude the two in an all out chase around the dock that results in the destruction of a chasing Mercedes. This movie features terrific chase sequences but contains a sense of "commercialism" as The Driver's BMW seems to be nearly invincible and overall superior to the cars that the chasers drive. But this "episode" in the The Driver series is fun to watch and fabulously directed by Ang Lee.

When watching The Hire: Ambush recently I hadn't realised that it was actually a series of films rather than just a specially made one-off. The second film in the series is Chosen, directed, to my surprise, by none other than Ang Lee! The plot here is essentially the same in that we are given sparse details to allow a chase sequence to be set up. This time the driver has a very young monk (clearly earmarked for a great destiny) and he has to evade capture again. Unlike Ambush though, this film has an odd tone to it as it plays out over classical music and is general shot with a still air of calm in contrast to the action.

As a result i didn't find it quite as thrilling as I could have done but it did work pretty well. In particular I liked that it was at night and that the use of selected illumination in certain bits helped add the feeling of speed and danger. I also enjoyed the tight manoeuvring in small areas being the focus rather than speed – so it is still a chase but a rather different one. Of course as an advert this shows us the ability of the car to handle really well compared to the others (how they must have enjoyed outclassing and smashing that Mercedes) but it does still work as a chase sequence. The end of the film is perhaps a little weak, but I suppose it has to produce an "end" to the story, even if it doesn't really have much of a story in the first place. Owen is good again, although the little kid is an odd device that distracts a little bit by virtue of the situation. Ang Lee's direction is odd given the nature of the project but it actually works pretty well.

Enjoyable little short though, it may well be selling me a car but I appreciate it trying to do it by entertaining me.

This is the first time when not only all user comments but also the IMDb.com's official plot summary misses the point completely.

Well, as it's one fine oriental story, this is nothing to be terribly ashamed of. Let me help you a bit:

Hint #1: Where is Ang Lee born? Yes, right - in Taiwan. So what? Ha, let me explain - can you name a country that Taiwanese people fear the most? Hai, you are right again - this is China. So don't expect too positive approach towards the People's Republic of China here.

Hint #2: (As one comment already correctly mentioned it) the boy (and the monks) are Tibetans. What did Chinese do to Tibet in 1949-1950? They invaded an independent country and Tibet is occupied since then. What happened to unique Tibetan culture under Chinese rule? It was systematically destroyed. Not a good example for Taiwanese people..

**** SPOILERS START *****

The boy is "chosen for a strange ritual" :) I think we can be more precise now. What is the greatest ritual in Tibet? The finding of the next Dalai Lama, The Chosen One.

**** SPOILERS END *****

Only one piece of this fine oriental mystery left unsolved - who are the bad guys, then? No, i can't tell you, i already wrote SPOILERS END above here.. :)

I gave it 7 points out of 10, because it is impossible to join the commercial and oriental art. But Ang Lee's masterpiece gives us fine example how close we can get.

This wonderful little short film finds Ang Lee at his best! Full of quiet Ang Lee-esquire moments(when the little Dalai-lama guy in the backseat feels hot, he opens the power window, then rolls it back up; the driver looks at him, understands the little guy's urge for cold air(much like that of his native Tibet), cranks down the temp to 65 on the BMW's climate control system.) Of course, the prominent humorous self-conscious Hulk reference didn't go unnoticed by the viewers, including the ones here on IMDb. This is just one instance of director's amazingly light touch.

Also, the music is absolutely wonderful, which wouldn't be that much out of place in Lee's period piece Sense and Sensibility. The music had me smiling throughout this short film, thinking of the connection to the Sense and Sensibility.

I'm amazed by how Ang Lee transformed the film(whose only aim was to advertise the great German cars) into the first-rate cinema by applying fully his sensibilities and preoccupations.

You can actually download this freely from BMW's website. As it is a plug for BMW, it is strongly focused on the automobile scenes. BMW, however, did allow Lee enough license to create a captivating film. It is somewhat enigmatic, yet the necessary information is beautifully presented, leaving the viewer more curious than frustrated. Clive Owen is no great shakes, but he gets the job done. The car scenes are beautifully executed and filmed. The kind of cinema that makes you want to go buy a BMW. Watch in the end as Lee alludes to a future project.