Varie

Love offers a downpour of ennui with occasional showers of enjoyment in the lightweight lesbian meller “Candy Rain,” the feature bow by Taiwan’s prolific commercials/musicvideo helmer Chen Hung-i. Collection of four vignettes, tenuously strung together, is sweetened by a “Reality Bites” sensibility, but slim content may prompt some viewers to exit early. A natural for gay-themed fests looking for international and generally upbeat fare, pic is sufficiently arty to appeal to regular festgoers too.
Based on the lovelorn experiences of some of Chen’s lesbian friends, the film starts with a breezy (and easily excisable) sequence that tests auds’ patience prior to the more engaging stories that follow. Penultimate yarn has the most emotional heft, portraying lovers Spancer (Niki Wu) and Summer (Kao Yi-ling), who agree to separate for 10 years while the latter explores heterosexuality. Only name actress is Hong Kong-based Karena Lam, in the over-theatrical final seg, convincingly playing a butch lesbian whose relationships always end in violence. Overall, perfs are charming, if rough, and the whole movie is gracefully shot. Stories are linked by a running gag about a package delivery for a person named Candy Rain. (Russell Edwards, Variety)