Song of the Exile

Song of the Exile
Directed by Ann Hui
Produced by Nai Chung Chou
Deng Fei Lin
Written by Nien-Jen Wu
Starring Maggie Cheung
Cinematography Zhiwen Zhong
Editing by Yee Shun Wong
Release date(s) 27 April, 1990
Running time 100 minutes
Country Hong Kong
Taiwan
Language Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin

Song of the Exile (客途秋恨, translit. Ke tu qiu hen) is a 1990 Hong Kong-Taiwanese film directed by Ann Hui. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.[1]

Contents

Plot

In 1973, 26-year-old Cheung Hueyin is abroad in London studying media. Receiving a letter from her mother, she returns to Hong Kong to attend her younger sister's wedding. The relationship between Hueyin and mother Aiko, who is Japanese, hadn't been stellar since childhood. From many flashbacks, we see it was Hueyin's paternal grandparents who did much of the early child-rearing, however, they would inadvertently overstep boundaries, resulting in family dysfunction.

Before becoming Mrs. Cheung and before the end of World War II, we learn Aiko spent time living in Manchukuo. There, she and other Japanese faced serious dilemmas after Japan's defeat and the subsequent uncertainties of imprisonment and punishment. The most intense of these dilemmas came with the serious illness of Aiko's infant nephew. His illness was eventually cured by Hueyin's father after a chance encounter and desperate roadside plea for help by Aiko. Mr. Cheung was an army translator from Guangdong, China with a background in traditional Chinese medicine. Aiko developed a sense of fondness for him upon seeing his actions and character. Aiko's brother concurred, mentioning that kindness toward children usually signifies a man of integrity. After Mr. Cheung escorted Aiko's family to the Japanese repatriation site, he revealed to Aiko a strong desire to be a romantic couple. The film focuses on Hueyin's journey of epiphany as she and Aiko visit Aiko's birthplace in Beppu, Japan, where many years of mother-daughter tension are finally reversed.

Cast and roles

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Song of the Exile". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/197/year/1990.html. Retrieved 2009-08-08. 

External links

Films directed by Ann Hui