The Beautiful Washing Machine
Studio: Facets Multimedia
WorkNameSort: Beautiful Washing Machine , The
Slow, surreal and spooky, this Malaysian film from 2004 is deftly crafted and rich with symbolism. Teoh is a bummed-out bachelor whose girlfriend has just moved out; the film opens with him in a brightly lit megastore, attempting to replace the washing machine she took with her. Opting for a crapped-out trade-in model over the shiny new versions offered by the salesman, Teoh quickly reveals himself to be not only somewhat out of step with societal expectations, but also something of a kook. His kookiness continues to unveil itself as he stalks a woman through the grocery aisles of the same megastore, putting the exact same items (including maxi-pads) she selected into his cart. Oh yeah, and there’s his penchant for watching gay porn in a robot mask, while his often-malfunctioning new washer rumbles along in the next room. By the time he wanders into his kitchen in the middle of the night to find a woman ‘ the spirit of the washing machine? ‘ crouched next to it eating a bowl of noodles, the viewer who was prepared for anything suddenly realizes that they really weren’t prepared for this. From there, director James Lee takes Teoh and his newly enslaved washing-machine-spirit-girl on a journey through vacuous consumerism, gender roles and cultural isolation. Though theoretically crafted in a linear fashion, Washing Machine can be somewhat difficult to follow and a bit of a patience-strainer, but ultimately Lee’s film is rewarding on several different levels beyond just the story at hand.
This article appears in Aug 22-28, 2007.