A Critique Essay on the Graduation Film Sweeter than Honey

Advisor: Professor Daw-Ming LEE

Student: Hsu-Sheng WANG

ABSTRACT

Sweeter than Honey is a story about an old man, Lao-Gee, 65, who ponders on hiring a closer to finish his life. One day, Lao-Gee meets a young woman named Sophie, their lives star to mingle with one another. By the end, they are on a journey to face their true and new life.

This critique essay focuses on the theme and genre of my graduation film Sweeter than Honey. It explores the process of the work. To deal with the theme involving friendship, life and death, I compare my film with film classic, Ikiru (1952) directed by Akira Kurosawa, as well as Italian film Miele (2013) and American film The fault in Our Stars (2014). How in these films different characters’ decision making and motive of crime to figure out the meaning of life.

The genre of my film is melodrama, In the genre section of this essay, reader will find out the contrast between mine and other films such as, Ikiru (1952), Quelques Heres de Printemps (2012),and The Farewell Party (2016).

The screenplay of Sweeter than Honey has been revised many times before shooting, including the characterization. From the start, production has been a rocky road to walk. There were different kinds of problem need to be solved, including the location scouting and managing schedule for actors. However, this experience makes me learn tons of challenging things to work with crews and talents in the Taiwan film industry, so every decision is not a one-man call. Director has to listen to what his teammates are thinking.

In the future, I have many works to do. The very first thing is to find a professional screenwriter to work with. A director needs to know each decision he/she makes will affect the storytelling itself. To obtain such ability, one will need to learn from more experiences. Filmmaking is a lifetime learning process. You never stop.