A Tourist’s Guide To Love
‘Working with cinematographer Jon Keng and featuring plenty of shimmering aerial shots, Tsuchida makes every stop along the way seem vibrant and appealing, from the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City to the beaches of Da Nang to the verdant hills of Sinh’s home village. “Doing nothing feels very weird,” Amanda admits while lounging under an umbrella by the sea, and truer words were never spoken.’ - Roger Ebert
‘The film is most buoyant when capturing the country’s beauty. Interstitial montages are crafted with prospective explorers in mind, featuring scenery saturated with color and warm light. From Amanda’s compact car surrounded by scooters (a baptism by traffic) in Ho Chi Minh City to more intimate locations like Sinh’s family village in Thon Chang, elegantly constructed sequences show our heroine swept away, immersed lush landscapes and cultural traditions.’ - Variety
‘Tsuchida and cinematographer Jon Keng relish in the on-location shoot, bringing the audience to Vietnam and not some proxy for the vibrant nation. As Sinh espouses wisdom about how to experience touring another country, the audience is gifted with visuals that support his claims that Vietnam is so much more than what is often depicted in Hollywood.’ - Screen Rant
‘Remember, all cinematographer Jon Keng (Little Big Women) had to do for the first Netflix original film shot in Vietnam was turn the camera on and let the urban and rural vistas from location manager Luke Harrison Ford do the rest for us as a cinematic travelogue. Keng’s drone work for establishing shots, street-level mobility, and wide lens for vibrant color show off the biggest star of A Tourist’s Guide to Love. If you didn’t investigate travel prices, destination names, or a recipe or two after watching this movie, more than the romance flew over your head.’ - Every Movie Has A Lesson
‘Keng has managed to explore Vietnam from the eyes of a localite. Not picking up the popular touristy spots was a demand of the film, and Keng made sure that the off-beat locations that he picked were equally good-looking and exotic. His camerawork draws you towards Vietnam and makes you want to take a trip to the South Asian country right about now.’ - Outlook
The Wind Phone
‘Cinematographer Jon Keng creates a spellbinding visual experience; there is no scene or frame in this film that is not acutely emotive, and everything is a shade of blue.’ - Indie Shorts Mag
Revenge of the Pontianak
‘Along with fellow cinematographer Jon Keng, the product is a visual dream. Each scene is painted in saturated colours that compliment each other, and the detailed art direction makes the film a work of art.’ - Timeout
‘I absolutely adored the cinematography. Many scenes were postcard-perfect and the stills could be sold as prints’ - Medium
‘So with cinematographer Jon Keng at the helm, the film is lush with saturated colours and gorgeously-detailed art direction. From the get-go, the film palette invokes a sensual tone. A glossy banana leaf, the misty golden hills, the scarlet kebaya of the spirit – it’s a visceral treat when coupled with the textured sets and costuming.’ - Morgan Awyong
‘The camera work is deliberately old-school steady and surfaces look buffed and pristine. The make-up and wardrobe design mimic the pomaded and corseted look of the 1960s originals. The team does not let its chance at the use of colour go to waste - the original movies were monochrome - so things that need to pop, pop.’ - The Straits Times
Before You Know It
Roger Ebert / LA Times / Washington Post / Hollywood Reporter / NPR / New York Times
Director Hannah Pearl Utt’s testimonial - Filmmaker Magazine
Zeiss Cinematography Interview - HDVideoPro
Profiles/Interviews
High Networth Magazine - What Does It Take To Be A Successful Cinematographer