The Receptionist

The Receptionist (Chinese: 接線員) is a 2016 drama film directed by London-based Taiwanese director Jenny Lu, starring Teresa Daley and Chen Shiang-chyi. Inspired by a true story, the film follows the lives of Asian migrant women who had arrived in London in hopes of a better life but end up taking jobs in an illegal massage parlor to survive.[4] The film premiered at the Golden Horse Film Festival on 20 November 2016.[5]

The Receptionist
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJenny Lu
Produced byLi Ya-mei
Jimmy Huang
Chiou Zi-ning
Peter J Kirby
Written byJenny Lu
Yeh Yi-wen
StarringTeresa Daley
Chen Shiang-chyi
Music byLu Lu-ming
CinematographyGareth Munden
Edited byHoping Chen
Production
companies
Uncanny Films
Dark Horse Image
Distributed byMirror Stage Films (Taiwan)
Release date
  • November 20, 2016 (2016-11-20) (Golden Horse Film Festival)
  • June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23) (Taiwan)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryTaiwan
United Kingdom
LanguageMandarin
English
Taiwanese
Budget£300,000[1]
Box officeNT$3 million (Taiwan)[2][3]

Premise

Tina is a Taiwanese graduate living in London with her British student architect boyfriend. Struggling to find work during the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Tina takes a job as a receptionist at an illegal massage parlour. As she slowly gets to know the women who work there, she is forced to question her values and morals.

Cast
  • Teresa Daley as Tina
  • Chen Shiang-chyi as Sasa
  • Amanda Fan as Mei
  • Josh Whitehouse as Frank
  • Sophie Gopsill as Lily
  • Teng Shuang as Anna

Production

The film received funding from Taiwan's Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, as well as through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.[6]

Release

The film has been an official selection at the Edinburgh International Film Festival,[7] the Raindance Film Festival,[8] the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival[9] the Durban International Film Festival,[10] the Milan and Salento Film Festivals and the 40th Asian American International Film Festival in New York City.[11]

Soundtrack

Promotional song
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."The Real World 真實世界"Ball, JieBall04:19

Reception

Critical Response

The Receptionist (Jie Xian Yuan) has received an 88% rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian lauded it as "a valuable, intelligent debut."[12] Elizabeth Kerr in The Hollywood Reporter gave it more mixed reviews.[13]

Accolades
Award Category Recipients Result
54th Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actress Chen Shiang-chyi Nominated
Milan Film Festival Best Feature Film The Receptionist Nominated
Salento Film Festival Best Feature Film The Receptionist Nominated
40th AAIFF Emerging Director Award Jenny Lu Won
gollark: You're 37 degrees Celsius internally like the rest of us.
gollark: Your kidnap plan wouldn't work that fast.
gollark: Why would I be at "aldi" in the next 86000 seconds?
gollark: ↑
gollark: It was Christmas 110 seconds ago.

References
  1. Sui, Cindy (23 June 2017). "Film exposes London's sex industry underworld". BBC News.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "【開眼電影網】接線員 The Receptionist". atmovies.com.tw. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  4. 三立新聞網. "金馬影后陳湘琪演妓女入戲太深 殺青才知得罪全劇組 - 娛樂 - 三立新聞網 SETN.COM". setn.com. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  5. "The Receptionist". www.goldenhorse.org.tw. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  6. "UK-Taiwan co-production 'The Receptionist' wraps shoot". screendaily.com. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  7. "The Receptionist (Jie Xian Yuan)". www.edfilmfest.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  8. "The Receptionist". calendar.raindancefestival.org. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  9. "台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival | The Receptionist". www.goldenhorse.org.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  10. "Durban International Film Festival - The Receptionist (Jie Xian Yuan)". Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  11. (Taiwan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (2017-07-24). "Three Taiwan works to be screened at New York film festival - Taiwan Today". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  12. Bradshaw, Peter (2018-07-20). "The Receptionist review – an intimate voyage into London's underworld". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  13. "'The Receptionist': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
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