DOES ANYONE KNOW THE WORK OF CLARA LAW?

It seems to me that modern film-makers that get the most of attention are the ones where either use well-known personas or the ones that are popular amongst art-house and mainstream communities due to the constant release of their work (Almodovar,Lynch,Van Sant)

Now what about the ones who are left aside,neglected?and i particularly want to emphasize to a wholly underrated and almost outcast of a film-maker named Clara Law.i discovered her work by searching and reading various sites and especially a topic on Senses of Cinema site which lured me to search her films where the only location i could find them was to be Karagarga.I managed to download 3 films of hers and all 3 were exceptional and entrancing in their uniqueness….

Autumn Moon,Floating Life,The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus,all these films of hers (and the rest of her intriguing body-work) deal with eroticism,identity,the female revolution,cultural interaction,memories and longing for a better tomorrow.Bits and pieces from Ozu’s patience and Erice’s silent tones,her personal style is without a doubt the one which makes her utterly important to what makes cinema a contemporary art.

I welcome all who know of miss Law’s filmography,who have seen 1 or possibly all of her films and i also welcome even the ones who are curious to know something more about her.I understand it is a topic which might not get much attention but whoever is aware of miss Law’s contribution,it would be a great pleasure to discuss…

I saw her film The Goddess of 1967 on DVD and liked it very much.

I will check out her other stuff soon – thanks for the recommendation Dimitris!

I remember being floored by Autumn Moon when I first saw it sometime in the in the mid-90’s. For a long time, I could only find her work at Chinese-owned video stores. Now it seems like more of her work is available.

lucky you Grey Daisies,not only Greece is still ignorant of her existence,it’s moreover impossible to find a decent download copy of Goddess which am dying to watch!!!

Jessica,her work is thoroughly available in torrent sites which more or less require a significant amount of rules to follow in order to keep up..Avistaz is an instant link to East Asian films but am not sure if her work is widely spread there… do you know if there are still available VHS copies of her films?

Yeah, the Goddess of 1967 was one of my favorite films of that year (2000, maybe) but she hasn’t done anything I’ve seen since. That film also introduced me to the talents of Rose Byrne who hasn’t seemed to have had her breakthrough role yet but is a great actress.

Has it been nine years already? There are some filmmakers who simply don’t have the fortitude to withstand the battering it takes to launch a film. I don’t know if that’s true for her, but it’s likely as not. In an interview I read a short time after the film was released, Law sounded hopeful but cautious about her career. Hopefully there will be more to come.

Where were you able to download them? And were they free? I have heard of her and am very curious to see what she has done.

Ari,you’re correct,it is 2000,and am quite sure even Rose Byrne would love to work again with miss Law :)

KJ,her career begins during the mid-80’s,with almost 10 feature works and she’s ready to release (hopefully) her next film inside 2009.Law can do anything she wants because she’s already established all these decades,it’s the public that needs to know more of her!!!

Tess,Karagarga was the only source i’ve actually been able to grab hold of her films,however,Asian Torrentz and Avistaz is possible that they have her filmography somewhere there…and maybe Asian DVD Club but i don’t have accounts for those sites :(

I love “The Goddess of ’67”. Haven’t been able to come by her other movies though.
Karagarga is supposed to be cool, I always wanted to get in, but have never been invited.

I love “The Goddess of ’67”. Haven’t been able to come by her other movies though.
Karagarga is supposed to be cool, I always wanted to get in, but have never been invited.

how is it that so dew people know about The Goddess of 1967 ? I got it in Hong Kong a few years ago just because the art looked cool, and was blown away.

Yeah, someone should get someone to put The Goddess of 1967 up on theauteurs. Definitely in my top 50 or so of the decade. Oh yeah, I also saw Temptation of a Monk. Don’t usually go for the costume dramas but it’s worth a look.

I have submitted The Goddess of 1967.

Thanks!

For those interested, and in the good ole U.S. of A. ;) (<—that’s for Dimitris), Netflix has The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus, Autumn Moon, and The Goddess of 1967 in their catalogue and Farewell China, and Erotique can be placed in the “saved” section of your queue.

I just put them number 3-5 in my queue. This is especially lovely because it means I will have more time to finish The Woman in the Dunes (the novel) before Netflix sends me the DVD, and discover the work of what I can safely assume to be a great filmmaker. :)

I’ve only seen three works by Law, and while I found them all to be worthwhile, I also felt that her ambitions outstripped her technique in that there is a slight feeling of inorganicness, or of the visual style being a bit forced and not quite suiting the tone of her conception. I compare her to Patricia Rozema, in part because they are two women in a male dominated business, but also because Rozema’s style and technique are quite strong and feel completely at one with her ideas, but her films could benefit from some more daring narrative construction and conceptual imagination like Law’s films have. Both women’s films are worth seeking out and are much better than most movies out there, but they both have a slight air of disappointment surrounding them as well since they feel like they should be even better than they are. That may sound like a complaint, but since the vast majority of films don’t hold much of any promise, it’s really more of a suggestion that either, or both, of them could be making really excellent films with the right combination ingredients.

The Goddess of 1967 is a revelatory film simply because of the incredible acting of Rose Byrne. This was the first time I had seen Rose Byrne in a film and was totally convinced and captivated by this young blind actor, only to find out later that she wasn’t actually blind! I was completely blown away and have been a great admirer of her work ever since. She’s also one of the few stars I’ve seen who is even more beautiful in person than on screen / in print.

As for the work of Clara Law, it’s pretty particular, I’m not sure if it’s my style, but at the very least her vision is unique, and that’s saying something. Shot selection and cinematography are usually quite striking. I haven’t seen too many of her films so maybe I’m just running my mouth.

I recently saw Autumn Moon. Delicate, thoughtful and bittersweet film, I imagine if the wonderful coming-of-age movies Hou made in the 80s were set in modern cityscapes (maybe parts of Boys from Fengkuei qualify) they would have been something like this. Made me very interested in pursuing the rest of her works.