Ann Hui's SONG OF THE EXILE did miserable business in the Australian market, where Shaw Brothers Kung Fu costume spectaculars were all the go. This is not surprising, as it seems to come from another planet rather than just another director.
Hui's work was considered the innovator of the "Hong Kong New Wave" of the late 70s, though the thriller JUMPING ASH anticipated many of it's qualities and used some of it's personnel.
Hui was one of the people who launched super star Chau Yun-fat and many of her assistants became key film makers, always declaring her influence. Her films dealt with a contemporary scene that was still a distance from reality until the controversial and, some claimed propagandist, BOAT PEOPLE.
SONG OF THE EXILE went against the tide - a chicflic autobiographical account of Hui's relationship with her mother which was not sentimental or sensational.
Hui fields (wish fulfillment) the so appealing Maggie Cheung as her self, recalled from her time as a London student to attend her sister's wedding and coming into head on conflict with her Japanese mother who she sees as a mahjong addict philistine. Their encounter forces Maggie/Ann/Hueyin to confront this antagonism and they return to Japan where she finds herself adrift, with no knowledge of the local language. The scene of her chased by what turn out to be benevolent locals is particularly nice. Family members, who fear mum wants to claim the family house, polish its floors. However the respect given her mother doesn't sit with her own ideas and she gradually uncovers mum's unknown past during the WW2 period - where Waisee Lee, another Hong Kong stalwart surfaces in flashback.
The film is genuinely involving, original and beautifully filmed in sharp colour - the arrival at the deserted rail station at night is very Ann Hui. Even with the uneasy Englsh speaking opening, Maggie gets her best outing here and the relationship with the mother character has a resonance rare in any cinema, let alone the glittering surfaces of the Hong Kong film.
Rewarding viewing, unique among the national industry and a peak achievement for one of the world's most influential film makers, this should have achieved far wider recognition.
Hui's work was considered the innovator of the "Hong Kong New Wave" of the late 70s, though the thriller JUMPING ASH anticipated many of it's qualities and used some of it's personnel.
Hui was one of the people who launched super star Chau Yun-fat and many of her assistants became key film makers, always declaring her influence. Her films dealt with a contemporary scene that was still a distance from reality until the controversial and, some claimed propagandist, BOAT PEOPLE.
SONG OF THE EXILE went against the tide - a chicflic autobiographical account of Hui's relationship with her mother which was not sentimental or sensational.
Hui fields (wish fulfillment) the so appealing Maggie Cheung as her self, recalled from her time as a London student to attend her sister's wedding and coming into head on conflict with her Japanese mother who she sees as a mahjong addict philistine. Their encounter forces Maggie/Ann/Hueyin to confront this antagonism and they return to Japan where she finds herself adrift, with no knowledge of the local language. The scene of her chased by what turn out to be benevolent locals is particularly nice. Family members, who fear mum wants to claim the family house, polish its floors. However the respect given her mother doesn't sit with her own ideas and she gradually uncovers mum's unknown past during the WW2 period - where Waisee Lee, another Hong Kong stalwart surfaces in flashback.
The film is genuinely involving, original and beautifully filmed in sharp colour - the arrival at the deserted rail station at night is very Ann Hui. Even with the uneasy Englsh speaking opening, Maggie gets her best outing here and the relationship with the mother character has a resonance rare in any cinema, let alone the glittering surfaces of the Hong Kong film.
Rewarding viewing, unique among the national industry and a peak achievement for one of the world's most influential film makers, this should have achieved far wider recognition.