The Mimicry opens with a wide shot of Taipei’s skyline before panning to a lush tropical forest. In the midst of this vegetation, an iridescent green beetle crawls across a green shirt on the ground. Moments later, a young man emerges with one green eye and one black eye, buttoning up the garment. He looks around like he’s utterly lost yet full of curiosity.
This sets the stage for Chung Yu-Lin’s unusual fantasy-art film in which a scarab beetle takes human form. “Vitamin” (Hsieh Chang-Ying) infiltrates a low-rise apartment building and observes and copies residents’ behaviour. At first, it’s creepy and unnerving.
In a Zoom interview from Taipei, Chung tells Pancouver that he wanted to show how people often don’t know their neighbours, even after living in close proximity for years. Through Hsieh’s character, Chung hopes to promote empathy and understanding for those who are different.
“We realized he wasn’t supposed to act like a beetle because in real life, nobody knows how a bug would think and move,” Chung says. “To imitate a human’s movement awkwardly would put out the right feel.”
The director cast Hsieh because he brought a genuine innocence to the role of Vitamin. One resident, Uncle A-Shang (Yang Tsung-Hua) befriends the strange, wordless young visitor and gives him his name. Uncle A-Shang also mentors Vitamin on how to sit properly, tap piano keys, and stare at others a little less weirdly.
“When he can play the piano, he becomes more human,” Chung states. “So, both of his eyes become black.”
Short story inspires The Mimicry
Vitamin develops an affection for Molly (Huang Pei-Jia), a dancer preparing for her first solo. In real life, Chung says, Huang used to dance about 10 years ago.
“She has focused on her acting career more,” the director notes. “At first, I worried about this for the dancing. But I realized that her experience fit the character, who also struggled to get the dance moves right.”
The Vancouver Asian Film Festival will present The Mimicry at noon on Saturday (November 16) at Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver. The film is inspired by Kao Yi-Feng’s short story “Proteges of the Green Scarab”. Chung likens the short story to a surreal painting.
“There is one part that really seemed like a thief was living in an apartment for a long time without anyone noticing,” Chung says.
He was also struck by a green scarab beetle clinging to the wall of the building in the story. “I felt that this will really work on the screen.”
Chung also drew inspiration from Yorgos Lanthimos’s absurdist 2015 comedy drama The Lobster.
Actors free to express themselves
The Mimicry‘s ensemble cast includes Jack Lee as a young father, Felicia Jie-Fei Hung his romantic interest, Alice Tsai-yi Huang as Molly’s mother, and Xu Hao Xiang as Molly’s choreographer.
“I tried to give the actors freedom—as much as possible,” Chung says. “So, I was just guiding them more with small adjustments.”
Hakka TV funded the project, so it includes Hakka dialogue. But The Mimicry is also punctuated by long silences in which Vitamin simply peers at what’s unfolding in different apartments. This creates a voyeuristic quality as residents’ lives unfold on-screen.
Chung explains that he was also keen to address the concept of “invasion”. He manifests this in subplots within the film.
“I think the beetle is like a symbol of innocence,” the director adds. “But people will see him differently because of their subjective experiences.”
Watch the trailer for The Mimicry (above).
The Vancouver Asian Film Festival will present The Mimicry at noon on Saturday (November 16) in Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver – Auditorium 4. For tickets, visit the festival website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
