Pai e Filho

This film needs no introduction. The latest work from director-writer Patrick Tam, After This Our Exile took home honours from the recent 2006 Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best PIcture, and after watching it today, it's no surprise why it did.

As mentioned in one of my recent reviews, the storyline of a movie is important, nevermind if the technicalities are great, because if the story doesn't engage, then it's a battle lost, in my opinion anyway. In After This Our Exile, the story is extremely simple, but it resonates deeply, and also because it deals with something very personal, very close, and perhaps, family ties always cut closer to home. After all, the Chinese title is Fu Zi, literally translated as Father-Son, which is quite unsophisticated if compared to the English title.

If you raised an eyebrow in Aaron Kwok's win for his acting in Divergence and thought he probably didn't deserve it, then his role as Sheng will win you over and justify his back to back win at the Golden Horse Awards. I'm sold. Gone are those teeny-bopper bad hair days and repetitive dance moves. Now, with maturity, he adds a certain gravitas to his roles, and kudos too to his willingness to take on unsavoury characters, instead of playing hero all the time. His dad is the perennial terror, one who blows hot and cold in a whim, full of false bravado, and never hesitant to raise a hand against spouse and kid. Uneducated, loud, uncouth, and worse, a habitual gambler, life for his family is difficult, both in material and emotional wealth. Yes, Kwok pulled off this character with aplomb, with subtle nuances, gestures, mannerisms and attitude all spot on, bringing to life a character you'll so love to hate, yet sympathize with at the same time.

And since the "Fu" played opposite the "Zi", and having both of actors pull off their father son relationship so convincingly, with great on screen chemistry, it's no wonder too that 9 year old Gouw Ian Iskandar took home the Best Supporting Actor award as the Son. His childlike innocence will probably bowl you over with earnestness, as he holds his own opposite Kwok and screen mother played by Charlie Young. He doesn't come off as irritating, and is so much likable and vulnerable in character that you just want to give him a hug. Intuitive and smart, you'd come to love and pity his character very early in the story.

Charlie Young only had half as much to do as the other two leads, and without makeup, she manages to bring out that average every day weary look of a tired mother and wife who had enough. And herein, the conflict begins, from the beginning of the film. Other supporting cast include Valen Hsu and Kelly Lin, are kept to a minimum, thereby keeping the focus squarely on the principal cast.

As I mentioned earlier, After This Our Exile tells a simple tale with deep themes, and is able to draw out emotions from within you as it resonates. In what could be problems that households face when there's a gambler in the home, the movie sets to show these issues from the onset, with the breaking down of family ties and values, and the debt causing financial strain on the family. I guess opposition to our Integrated Resorts would see their arguments fleshed out here.

In what could be an oversimplification of the issue, gamblers = debts = strain in family relations, it is this domestic disturbance that ring out vividly. Broadly it can be categorized into two acts (no, I won't say anything more), but each act focuses on different aspects on the family relationship and dynamics. Toward the end, everything comes full circle, with the son experiencing exactly what the mom has gone through, and it makes the movie extremely poignant. It emphasizes the widely held notion that in domestic squabbles, it's always the children who suffer the fate of the consequences.

Brilliant cinematography and awesome musical pieces complemented the movie well, with plenty of nice piano pieces punctuating emotional moments. The pacing, though slow, is well measured, and Ipoh never looked more beautiful, becoming a character in itself rather than just another locale to shoot the film in. Attention to details are not spared, and the production brings about Malaysian flavour to it too. Some though I predict, may not enjoy the open end that director Patrick Tam chose to finish it with, but it will allow for post viewing discussion, loads of it.

My only gripe, as I just found out, is that the theatrical version now showing in theatres, is the watered down one. The director's cut, clocking in at almost 2.5 hours, get whittled down to 2 hours here, leaving certain scenes on the cutting room floor which were glimpsed at through a series of very quick flashback montage. I thought the film could have gone on and showed us more footage, especially on the father-son bonding (hinted from production stills), which I thought would have added a better level of the understanding about the dynamics of the Fu-Zi relationship.

The second movie this year which used the You Are My Sunshine song (the other is the Korean movie), After This Our Exile makes its way easily into my shortlist of favourite movies of 2006.

You are my sunshine, making me happy when skies are grey. You never know how much I love you.

As eagerly awaited as a new Terence Malick film, After This Our Exile, the latest work by idiosyncratic Hong Kong director Patrick Tam more than lives up to expectations. Known as a teacher of Wong-Kar-wai, Tam's first feature in seventeen years is a compelling and moving film about the complex interaction between an irresponsible father and his loyal and devoted son who would do anything for him, even steal. Winner of major Hong Kong awards as well as Taiwan's Golden Horse Award for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor, the film carries on the gritty tradition of the Hong Kong New Wave of the 70s and 80s while defying patriarchal genre conventions and probing greater emotional depths than much of the mainstream cinema of the time.

Set in Malaysia but spoken in Cantonese, the film uses flashbacks, crosscutting, and ellipsis to tell a riveting and often-melodramatic story. After Lee Yuk-lin (Charlie Yeung) walks out on her abusive husband Chow Cheung-sheng, (Aaron Kwok), a compulsive gambler, their nine-year old son Boy (Gouw Ian Iskandar) runs to his father's place of work to tell him of her escape. The overwrought Sheng drags Lin home and physically and verbally abuses her, but eventually shows his loving, almost childlike side and they end up having sex.

After taking Boy on a cruise, Sheng returns to discover than Lin has left again, this time with another man, and father and son are left to struggle alone. Sheng has lost his job, owes gambling debts, and Boy is without the money to pay the bus driver to go to school. Forced to move to a seedy small town hotel, Sheng is driven to pimping a girl (Kelly Lin) to make money but their life soon begin to spiral further downward. Sheng teaches Boy to sneak into people's home to steal jewelry, but the child is caught and sent to a detention center in a sequence that leads to a startling and unexpected conclusion.

While After This Our Exile sounds depressing and there are some truly heartbreaking moments, the film has touches of kindness and humanity that are enhanced by the caliber of the acting and the rich cinematography of Ping Bin-lee. Iskandar, also known as Ng King-to, is sympathetic and moving as the appealing but not cloying child who loves his dad but is slow to realize how he is guiding him into self-destructive behavior. Pop singer Aaron Kwok gives a masterfully nuanced performance as the deadbeat husband who manages to evoke sympathy as a suffering human being in spite of his failings. We know that Sheng is doing what he does because he loves his son, never grasping the extent to which he has endangered the boy until a furious coda suggests that pain heals very slowly and sometimes not at all.

Except for the intrusive music which felt like a none too subtle attempt to evoke the sought-after emotion, this was a passable tear-jerker with a bit of sex and comedy. The music was particularly jarring because the solo piano was so much more foreground rather than background, and the distinctly European sound clashed with the tropical Southeast Asian visuals on the screen. To my Western tuned ear, the lack of strings kept the tears, which were yearning to be released, from emerging.

The "feel" of the picture was very Malaysian even though the story revolved around mostly ethnic Chinese characters. The interior and exterior shots as well as the scenes showing dining/food added to the "flavor" of the film. (Please, forgive the pun.)

Worth seeing? Maybe for a rainy afternoon or a soap opera addict. It is a tad too long and could easily be pared another 30min. I can hardly imagine watching the original version - still, I know people watching a continuing soap opera after 20yrs.

This story mostly revolves around a boy called, actually "boy" throughout the film. His parents are not happy, with his mom Lin trying to leave the son and his father (the boy's parents are not legally married) in the beginning of the film. Once she does, it is up to his father Sheng (well played by Aaron Kwok) to take care of the boy. He is a hopeless gambler, always in debt and they leave their town in China for a better chance at sustaining themselves. The film is straightforward in its telling, moving at a semi-slow pace. The film is also atmospheric at times, with the cinematography at times superb. The story in and of itself is not immediate, variations of it have been done before, but its well filmed. The reason for the grade not being higher is its lack of synergy with the characters. You may or may not care for them as the film progresses, but you don't relate to them. I suppose this is a slice of life in which the point may be that it's hard to rise above your station in life without making an honest attempt at change. That being said, this film reminds me somewhat of Wong Kar-Wai's films, it shares in those films a simple approach to a deceptively simple story. Its a good film, but not a masterpiece. It is, however, worth watching.

In a surprising twist of linguistics, the English name for Patrick Tam's latest carries a much deeper sense of atmosphere and tragedy than the simple Chinese title, translated more or less as "father". Well, a formal expression of the concept "father", but quite obvious either way.

And if one thing it isn't, that's obvious, for Exile serves as an adept reminder that even the most straightforward of stories may require multiple runs to fully appreciate.

Tam did items like Love Massacre in the past, and hasn't been much of a prolific artist in almost twenty years. This new release, rumored and talked about for over two , gives the director a respectable shot at a comeback, even though it probably isn't what he was going for, nor is it, frankly, the most astounding, earth-shattering drama to ever grace the silver screen.

But it is a sensible, intriguing affair, with quite excellent cinematography, a goodie bag's worth of various ingredients and an at least seldom-visited location setting.

Exile further depicts lean pop star Aaron Kwok in a superb melodramatic turn which has one regularly thinking to themselves, "now that's acting". Just for that kind of pondering about him, Exile surely has merit.

It further puts forth Charlie Yeung (Seven Swords, New Police Story) as Kwok's troubled life partner, with the couple, A Sheng and Lin, entering the stage as two Cantonese speakers (presumably from HK although that much is never revealed) in Malaysia. Kwok's character works as a cook in a restaurant, while Yeung depicts a homemaker, taking care of son Boy (Gouw Ian Iskandar). Something's amiss from the get go as Lin tries to get away from an abusive, yet strangely loving, relationship with her significant other, all superimposed over landscapes Tam and crew make clear are quite homey and comfortable.

For a minute there Exile veers close to the wave of cinematic psychedelia that came out of East Asia (and mainland China in particular) over the late 90's and early 2000's, with a flickering mood of non-place and slow, thoughtful unfolding of events to challenge those who didn't get enough sleep the night before.

However, this makes room for a more realistic mindset quite early. Lin indeed makes her escape, leaving Sheng and Boy to fend for themselves as we slowly witness them deteriorate further toward destitution in a pretty but cruel realm where, despite being surrounded by others, they are inevitably alone. Kwok does his job with flying colors, convincing us throughout that he's this lonely, well-meaning character that's so tragic for simply being completely unfit for the world in which we live. No matter what the guy does he can't get a break, from his crumbling family to bad debts that won't go away.

Everyone else doesn't seriously measure up to Aaron, with Yeung doing her best but ultimately failing to impress. She's OK, yet we like her a lot better in urban, rather than urbane, roles. Some supporting love comes via Qin Hailu (Durian Durian and the masterful Chicken Poets) as Lin's KTV lounge friend and boss. What ruins her appearance in Exile is the horrible Cantonese dub they slapped over her Putonghua lines, hence a reduction to a stand-in sideshow.

Our beloved Kelly Lin has returned at long last from her own mini exile, looking so different and mature we barely recognized the graceful lady. Sadly none of the bubbly Martial Angels stuff from back in the day here. She plays a prostitute granting Sheng temporary relief and haunting memories at the same time. And although appropriately emotional and chilling while engaged with him, Kelly's persona also ends up in a dead end much like most everyone in the film, leaving Aaron to carry it all himself.

Even the kid, Boy (Iskandar) doesn't pack too much punch despite showing promise. We wish him every success in the future, but feel there was more that could have been done with his role. As it stands, you feel for him in the few occasions where he starts to (quite genuinely) cry, yet not a lot beyond.

Exile, overall, can be touching at times and certainly there's those that'll find it very moving. It doesn't overwhelm with sheer sentiment, though, leaving its assets clear: firstly, there's Aaron in a prize appearance. Then, the mesmerizing Malaysian landscapes. Finally, that English title just compels one to reflect on what it all means. Taken in that context, After This Our Exile thrusts itself forward, defying a seemingly almost banal story and non-descript characters. Additionally, Tam makes sure to incorporate saucy adult elements like love scenes (not overdone) and language. In fact, more F-bombs here than in any other HK film we can recall recently.

This humanity is definitely a driving force, but not enough for grand success. Ergo, after all this isn't our latest classic, but it sure should be on your winter viewing list.