Aleksandra Szcepanowska writes, directs, and stars in her feature debut, Touch. Set in China, the story tells of a Western woman who embarks on a passionate affair with a blind masseuse. The film has just screened at this year’s Arrow Video FrightFest and from the synopsis it doesn’t exactly sound like the type of film that would feature on their programming. The festival doesn’t just cater to gore-filled horror though, it offers a range of movies that embrace the spectrum of the darker heart of cinema. Touch definitely fits under this umbrella, although it does take a lot of time for this to show.
What begins as a slow relationship drama gradually shifts into a tense and terse psychological drama. When we first meet Fei Fei (Szczepanowska) she appears to be living the life of luxury in her idyllic home with her beautiful family. We quickly learn though that, despite being wed to a Chinese man and having birthed a child in the country, she is only in there on a Visa, one she has to constantly update. Fei Fei adores her adopted country and is doing all in her power to be granted permanent residence. Her husband couldn’t be less helpful or interested however, and it is his lack of compassion that sends Fei Fei in search of companionship. She stumbles into a massage parlour and there she meets Bai Yu (Jiangwei Yuan). After this initial encounter, many of Szczepanowska’s peers would quickly ignite the affair. This is not the tact that Szczepanowska takes, she teases the attraction, but keeps the pair in their strict roles of client and worker. She continues in this direction for a while, the two of them circling one another, getting close and then stopping just before anything happens. By the time that they finally submit we are some way into the film and the audience is fully invested in their tryst.
Once our pairing has reached their climax the narrative begins its unhurried descent into darkness. All is well until Fei Fei reveals her true colours and Bai Yu does not take kindly to seeing his beloved act in this way. He becomes determined to be close to her at any costs as Touch sidesteps into a gender reversed Fatal Attraction. The final third of the movie proves exactly why the FrightFest team included it as Bai Yu ups his mission to keep Fei Fei for himself, and Fei Fei begins to spiral out of control. Her beloved China suddenly becomes the most dangerous place in the world and as she loses grasp on her surroundings; Szczepanowska moves in for the kill. Soft, slow, and sensitive, even as the world falls apart, everything before has been building to the climatic finale. Szczepanowska’s hard work pays off in dividends; early investment from the audience is rewarded with some devious twists.
Aleksandra Szczepanowska reflects the affluence of Fei Fei through costumes, locations, and the stylish aesthetic of Touch. The visuals, especially near the start, have lots of blue hues, indicating how cold and alone Fei Fei feels. As the narrative progresses, warmer colours are slowly filtered in, but never truly overpower the screen keeping Fei Fei just out of reach. There are also some beautiful hazy moments of camerawork that place the viewer temporarily with Bai Yu. Being writer, director, and star, Szczepanowska obviously has a close bond to all aspects of the film and her passion shines in an excellent performance that conjures up Isabelle Hupert level talent (and not just because of the passing resemblance between actors). Szczepanowska plays Fei Fei in just the right way that the audience both want to root for her and leave her to the bed that she’s made. It’s only really been in the last few years that filmmakers have felt comfortable allowing a female character to make mistakes, be damaged and anything less than perfect, but with Touch Szczepanowska demonstrates how it can work to tell a compelling tale.
Fei Fei works as a tango instructor and in many ways this dance is the perfect analogy for Touch itself; it starts slow and steady, the passion builds, and then the danger explodes. What starts out as a simple drama around a failing marriage, tentatively stretches and expands itself into threatening and malevolent psychological drama. Touch coerces the viewer with the promise of darkness and Szczepanowska certainly pays off on that.
Touch
Summary
Not your typical genre festival selection, Touch takes time in revealing its dark heart, but once invested the viewer is rewarded with a clever and chilling psychodrama that proves lust can be killer.
Touch was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2021.
