The Home Song Stories

It's almost a shock to see 'Script Editor' amongst the closing credits, because at least half of this pleasant, rather humourless film is a series of stock situations which have already been more economically and interestingly explored in other films about selfish mothers. It's tough for an audience to maintain their interest in a central character who cares only about herself, but two thrids of the way through this ghastly woman's journey, the main focus switches to her children, and there are scenes of poignant, painful truth which have undeniable clout. The script and direction tend to self-importance, but the cast (especially Steven Vidler) is excellent, but the costume design, as in so many period Australian films, is superficial and self-conscious.

The Home Song Stories made its debut at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, and I've waited a long time for it to come to our shores. A joint Singapore-Australian production, it's an autobiographical story of writer-director Tony Ayres' childhood, of what he remembers about his mother, a songstress who uprooted her children and migrated from Hong Kong to Australia, and their struggles to etch a living surviving in a strange land.

When watching the film, I can't help but to remember Alfonso Cuaron's Great Expectations, where Ethan Hawke's Finn narrated a line early in the movie, stating quite clearly he's not going to tell the story the way it happened, but rather he's telling it the way he remembered it. And this rings very true in Ayres' Home Song Stories. Stories from within are always heartfelt and sincere, and that's what this movie brings across - the feeling that it's from deep down, and that of honesty. Like how the movie started with the Chinese oldie "Bu Liao Qing", mirroring the style the story was told and the narrative being measured, powerful, and very meaningful.

What made it work was the excellent acting all round. Of late I've enjoyed Joan Chen's movies these days, compared to her earlier works (like Judge Dredd or On Deadly Ground). Aging like fine wine, her maturity brings about certain gravitas and also likability as she takes on more adult roles, and it's no doubt my favourites were her motherly roles in Saving Grace, Jasmine Women, and now, Home Song Stories. Here, she plays Rose, one who lives on the fast lane in Hong Kong, with some untold secrets from the past. In order to give her two children the best life she could, she milks her looks for what it's worth because of her lack of ability and skill, and for some reason, succumbs to her weakness for men quite easily, falling fast and falling hard, flitting from man to man, being unlucky in love, and providing some headache and embarrassment for her children, who do not know what to make out of the "Uncles" that come through the door.

And Qi Yuwu, no doubt bolstered by his cinematic appearance in 881, gets a meatier role with dialogue. He stars as Joe the illegal immigrant, the young man whom Rose falls for, and becomes surrogate father to her children, and yet, having this threatening air that he has some ulterior motives set on Rose's daughter May (Irene Chan). You might think he's a cad, what with his 70s look and that glint in the eye, but overall, he's someone whom you'll compare with Bill (Steven Vidler), the Australian sailor whom Rose comes to Australia for. Putting both Bill and Joe side by side and the choice is obvious for Rose, but alas, the ditzy indecisiveness of womanhood causes great despair amongst her loved ones.

More so for her son Tom, played by Joel Lok. The narrative stems from his point of view, and Lok is the absolute winner here, in fleshing out Tom, the kid who lives in his fantasies, a form of escapism to a very confused childhood. You might think that he's able to take the blows in his stride, but I guess everyone, including a kid, has his own patience. You feel his pain, his confusion, his tears as he struggles to understand his mother's actions. He loves her, yet hates her, and Lok displays a masterful performance here that you might think he's a veteran. This kid's charming, pure and simple.

There are many plus points in this movie which makes it exquisite, and the wonderful songs used accentuates the era of that time perfectly. What made it work too was that the characters aren't forced to speak only one language, highlighting their multi-lingual nature quite naturally as they converse in Cantonese, Mandarin and English, which makes it seem more realistic rather than staged. It showcases growing pains really well, of relationships amongst siblings and with a single parent, and what I thought was one of the most powerful run up to an unforgettable scene, was a reminder that when dealing with people, to always be mindful of the hateful words we use. They might be said in the fit of a moment, but they always hurt bad, because everyone has feelings. Like the Chinese saying goes, once it's uttered, it's extremely difficult to retract, and the consequence of it could be damaging or devastating.

At its core, The Home Song Stories evokes painful memories, but also brings about the notion of forgiveness, remembering and honouring those memories. A mother's love knows no bounds, even if she behaves in a manner you cannot quite grasp at the moment. Stay tuned when the end credits roll, as you get to see a little more of Ayres' life and times, and of course, his real mother, put together in a photo montage. This is one movie which you definitely must watch this week. Highly recommended!

Despite an impressive performance from Joan Chen, and a confident technical sheen, HOME SONG STORIES fails to deliver as drama due to a weak, underwritten script, which keeps characters and incidents vague and one-note.

The main problem is that the film doesn't have an act one, deciding to give us character and story foundation in around the same time it takes to boil an egg.

Because of this, we only get a narrow-minded view of Rose (Joan Chen), never getting to know what kind of person she was in Shanghai, never seeing what kind of person Bill (Steven Vidler) was that convinced Rose to move to another country, and what the circumstances were that made Rose leave Bill a week after they were married.

Therefore, we see Rose as a completely irresponsible person, a one-sided look at a rather more complex person.

On the plus side, the film is extremely well-made, and performances by Joel Lok and Irene Chan as the two children are quite believable and natural, while Yuwu Qi also impresses as Joe, one of Rose's many lovers.

The film, however, belongs to Joan Chen, who manages to find an emotional core to the role of Rose, bringing a loving warmth and fractured insanity to a character that is badly underwritten by writer/director Tony Ayres, who obviously has an intimate knowledge of the subject matter, but fails to give it substance within the framework of a feature film.

Despite being watchable, HOME SONG STORIES falls short of its ambitions, a missed opportunity at showing an important part of Australia's immigrant past.

I recently got a job at The Embassy Theatre in Wellington, and to just my luck the Film Festival has recently started. We sometimes get to go in and watch the films for free if we aren't doing much. My boss said I could go in to watch, so I jumped at the opportunity (simply because it was a free film).

The Home Song stories is a brilliant film.

The story follows the young Tom at age 10 (i think) as he, his Mother and sister struggle to contain a normal lifestyle, being Chinese immigrants in Australia in the 1970's. A lot of the focus is on his Mother who battles between providing the needs for her children and resenting them, being still quite naive and wanting more freedom.

Joen Chen is fully compelling in probably her best role to date. Joel Lok is already destined to have a great career, who pulled off the most engaging child performance I have seen. For the most part, he reacts passively, with minimal dialogue: it's his woeful looks that draw you in.

The cinematography is fantastic. The color tone seems so natural and real, while still being cinematic. The CU's have great engagement with the character's eyes, with little depth of focus, guiding you to exactly what you should be watching. The slow tracks in and sideways draw you to new developments in the story, working perfectly with the actors' performances.

The story itself is one that is told to its fullest extent that would work for a film, hands up to Tony Ayres! I read some articles and apparently there was a bit more to the story, but would be to much to work structurally.

I am annoyed that after the film finished, I had to leave to get back to work. Because just a few minutes after Tony Ayre himself came out to answer questions from the audience.

Overall, this is one film that SHOULD NOT BE MISSED. Find it! Watch it! I feel like I should have paid for my ticket. But I will probably get the DVD anyway.

I am absolutely sure most people will like this film. It's a beauty. :-)

I went to the Australian premiere of "The Home Song Stories" last night, and I'm damn glad I did.

It's a great film.

Tony Ayres has done a magic job of bringing his life story to the big screen, and he's picked a great cast to do it with.

Newcomers John Lok and Irene Chen are fantastic as the young Tony and his older sister, Mei.

Joan Chen's finally found a great role, after a string of awful ones.

She shines as Tony's mother, a former Hong Kong nightclub singer who moves to Australia in 1971 with her two children, after marrying an Australian sailor... who she promptly shoots through on.

I don't really want to tell you too much about the movie, because I'd rather you went and saw it yourself.

All I can say is that it's a great study of immigrant life in the 70's, and a snapshot of Australia at the time.

I'm not sure how wide a release "The Home Song Stories" will get, but if it turns up in your local cinema, go see it.

I haven't enjoyed a film this much in a long time.

To hear an interview with Tony, go to

http://rastous.podomatic.com/entry/2007-02-25T18_39_35-08_00