Australia
and Singapore enjoy close diplomatic and economic ties. There is a free trade
agreement between the two countries and Singapore provided assistance to
Australia’s Afghanistan deployment. It is a special relationship forged in WWII
by soldiers like the two protagonists of Aaron Wilson’s intimately experiential
Canopy (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
For
a pilot like “Jim,” being shot down over the dense jungles of Singapore is a double-edged
sword. The thick vegetation provides natural cover, but it is an unforgiving
and disorienting environment. It makes it difficult to distinguish friend from
foe, which becomes an issue when he encounters “Seng.” Somehow, he conveys to
Jim he is a Singaporean-Chinese soldier trapped behind enemy lines. An alliance
is quickly forged, but few words are exchanged. Even if they were not
stealthily evading the Japanese patrols, they could not understand each other
anyway.
With
its near complete lack of dialogue, Nic Buchanan & Rodney Lowe’s stunning
sound design, and Stefan Duscio’s ominously beautiful cinematography, Canopy is likely to generate comparisons
to Terrence Malick. It is a richly crafted film, but it is also a taut viewing
experience that packs a real emotional wallop. With incredible subtlety, Wilson
implies whoever survives the long dark night will honor the memory of their fallen
nocturnal comrade for the rest of his life. Clearly, the length of time is not
important in Canopy. Rather it is the
intensity that matters.
Frankly,
it is quite a complement to contend Canopy’s
eighty-four minute run time (including credits) actually feels short, given
its quiet wordlessness and the measured deliberateness with which Wilson submerges
viewers in the murky setting. Yet, just as it is for Jim and Seng, Canopy is over before you know it.
Given
Wilson’s approach, Canopy necessarily
entails a distinct acting challenge for his two co-leads, but they rise to the
occasion quite impressively. For Khan Chittenden, looking like a younger Matt
Damon is probably both a curse and a blessing, but such cosmetic matters
quickly melt away in Wilson’s jungle. As Jim, he expresses the film’s spirit of
solidarity in a way that is genuinely moving. Likewise, the Taiwanese Mo Tzu-yi
is silently eloquent and utterly believable as the wounded but resourceful
Seng.
