HOME SONG STORIES...Wow!

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HOME SONG STORIES...Wow!

Postby Brian Thibodeau » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:33 am

Saw four movies at the TIFF today, and this was by far the best one, a perfect way to end the evening. One of those movies that clearly grows out of an intense need for catharsis on the part of it's creator, this is pretty strong stuff, painfully real, a harsh, unforgiving look at a very troubled woman and the grief she brought upon herself and her family, yet at the same time an elegy to the joys and sorrows wrought by motherhood that should ring true even if you haven't lived through events like those witnessed by writer-director Tony Ayres. The producers really ought to start stumping for an Oscar nod for Joan Chen (and Bob oughtta set up that dividing line so we can add perfs like this one to her DB entry without jeopardizing the integrity of the "HK" in the domain name) :D. She's fantastic in this, equal parts desperate, selfish, overreacting, spiteful, proud, even suicidal, and at the post-screening Q&A, a very amiable Ayres hinted that the real life events on which he based the film were even crazier. Ayres seemingly humanistic real-life demeanor and his ease with character detail would seem to mark him as a psychologist-with-a-camera, which could bode well for future pictures. The recreation of 70's Australia is spot on—lived-in 70's, not hey-look-at-me! 70's. The experiences of the Chinese diaspora have rarely felt this...right (forgiving the fact that I'm neither Chinese nor an immigrant ;) ), but then again, how often do such experiences truly end up on the screen in films that remain accessible to a large audience. You may not have had a family like this, but you may have known someone who did, which can make it even more insightful. A perfect contrast/companion to this film would be EVE AND THE FIREHORSE, a fest entry from 2005 that I gushed about here recently. Totally different subject matter, but in both cases, the immigrant experience is at the heart of the both the cherished memories and the bleak sadness. Hopefully this will gain a wide release; it's definitely got the goods.

Nice touch: the film's protagonist, 10-year-old Tom (Joel Lok, who Ayres said called the production people himself after seeing a newspaper ad) has three brief dream sequences, ostensibly based on a children's book of Chinese swordpplay tales and involving his conquering of villains representing the bad people in his life (and played by the same actors), but they're filmed exactly like the Hong Kong swordplay movies of the early 60's, which surely would have been re-run on television by the time period in which the film is set. Even the colour has that slightly-robbed-of-red look.

Another nice touch: when the family goes to a Chinese cinema at one point, the film they watch is THE FABULOUS PROTECTRESS (1970).
http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?i ... ay_set=eng
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Postby dleedlee » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:16 am

Thanks for the first hand report, Brian. After reading all the buzz coming out of Australia, I've been eagerly anticipating this and I'm glad to have it confirmed by you. It seems Joan Chen is having a busy 2007 what with Jiang Wen's The Also Rises, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution in addition to Home Song Stories.
???? Better to light a candle than curse the darkness; Measure twice, cut once.
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Postby Brian Thibodeau » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:42 pm

dleedlee wrote:Thanks for the first hand report, Brian. After reading all the buzz coming out of Australia, I've been eagerly anticipating this and I'm glad to have it confirmed by you. It seems Joan Chen is having a busy 2007 what with Jiang Wen's The Also Rises, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution in addition to Home Song Stories.


Yeah, she's long overdue for some major, important recognition! Guess this is just her time to shine. Although I still have fond memories of her performance in ON DEADLY GROUND. :P
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