The Home Song Stories - 32nd HKIFF
Being from Melbourne, this is one of the "must see" film for me in this year festival, and the fact that it is starring by Joan Chen, who was in so many fine films in 2007 (Se, Jie and the sun also rises), makes me even eager to see the film.
The whole story was told by the view of a boy, Tom, about his drifting life with his mother, Rose (by Joan Chen) and his elder sister. Rose was a Hong Kong night club singer who follows different men regularly in order to find a better life for herself and her children. The film began as Rose embarked on a new relationship with an Australian Navy man which brought her and her family to settle in Melbourne/Sydney. From the point onwards, things never really settle until the suicide of Rose.
Based on the autobiography from director Tony Ayres's childhood (who is the character of Tom), the story was told from a observer point of view. The film touches a wide range of issues, including culture difference, jealousy between mother and daughter, pride to one's past and can't let go and accept change.
Despite all these, it was the short revelation of the tragic life which Rose had before having the two children actually gives a much stronger emotional feeling, than their drifting lives in Australia for most of the time during the film. It was supposed to be a very emotional, if not traumatised experience for Tom. Yet, such strong emotion was never quite materialised. It was as if the audience become the observer as well. The relationship between Tom's sister and Rose actually works somehow better. There are bitterness between the two but there are also strong reasons while they bond so close together, so much so that Tom had become somehow a on-looker most of the time. Rose's character was again brillantly played by Chen although her character is not a very lovable one in story. Indeed, she is probably the only person who is responsible for her downfall (although her tragic past does play a significant part as well) At the end, you don't really know whether Tom (or Ayres) had forgiven his mother for what she had done to him and the whole family.
The whole story was told by the view of a boy, Tom, about his drifting life with his mother, Rose (by Joan Chen) and his elder sister. Rose was a Hong Kong night club singer who follows different men regularly in order to find a better life for herself and her children. The film began as Rose embarked on a new relationship with an Australian Navy man which brought her and her family to settle in Melbourne/Sydney. From the point onwards, things never really settle until the suicide of Rose.
Based on the autobiography from director Tony Ayres's childhood (who is the character of Tom), the story was told from a observer point of view. The film touches a wide range of issues, including culture difference, jealousy between mother and daughter, pride to one's past and can't let go and accept change.
Despite all these, it was the short revelation of the tragic life which Rose had before having the two children actually gives a much stronger emotional feeling, than their drifting lives in Australia for most of the time during the film. It was supposed to be a very emotional, if not traumatised experience for Tom. Yet, such strong emotion was never quite materialised. It was as if the audience become the observer as well. The relationship between Tom's sister and Rose actually works somehow better. There are bitterness between the two but there are also strong reasons while they bond so close together, so much so that Tom had become somehow a on-looker most of the time. Rose's character was again brillantly played by Chen although her character is not a very lovable one in story. Indeed, she is probably the only person who is responsible for her downfall (although her tragic past does play a significant part as well) At the end, you don't really know whether Tom (or Ayres) had forgiven his mother for what she had done to him and the whole family.
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