skyscope

I read the reviews for this when it first came out, in Sep 2007 I think, and I thought, 'I must see this'. If only because it was about Chinese immigrants in Australia. But I only got to see it on Friday.

And it was amazing.

Seriously, I don't even know where to start. The acting was superb - especially Joan Chen as Rose. She is proud, glamorous, insecure, beautiful, fragile, frustrating, terrifying; and yet her love for her children runs beneath all her moods. Her transformation was portrayed so well; at the beginning of the film, we see her walk down an Australian suburban street in a blue cheongsam, head held high, heavily made-up, holding her parasol above her head like a film star. Later in the film, she walks down that same street, spirit broken, haggard, in a dreary cardigan-dress ensemble. But so much has been written about her performance - I can't say any more about her role without sounding more horribly wannabe film-critic pretentious that I already do.

So I will talk about Joel Loke and Irene Chen instead. These two were brilliant. Joel is an amazingly sympathetic character. The scene where he comes back from school and finds his mother on the sofa- my heart was in my throat, all how can you just sit there and do that - and yet, seeing the film from his point of view, we can hardly blame him for his actions. I also love the scene where he and Yuwu and playing in the waves; an isolated happy moment in a film of hardships and uncertainty.

Irene too; she is so beautiful. The affection between Irene and Joel was so real- I've had similar mock-fights with my brothers. And the interactions between Irene and Joan were so beautiful and made my heart hurt, like the way the Joy Luck Club did.

Finally, the scene where Irene and Joel find Rose in the garden shed- it was as if it was my own mother there. I cried. Perhaps the best, but also the most horrifying, scene in the film.

And then you have to remind yourself the whole time that this actually happened. Tony Ayers is so honest in this film and a bit confronting in its honesty.

The other thing I love about it is the Australian-ness of it. And it's does it subtly, too - I dislike the films that use the obvious, broad Australian accent, stereotypical 'G'day mate' kind of approach. Irene and Joel do have Australian accents, but it's so genuine- the kind that I and the other Asian-Australians speak with. The other thing I love is that they used English, Mandarin and Cantonese throughout the film so appropriately. Perhaps this is also a reaction to my peeve with The Forbidden Kingdom - somehow everyone speaks English in Ancient China !

But back to the topic. The streets and the houses are so recognisably Australian- you feel like you could see Bill's house walking in Eastwood. Which for me really drives home something I've been thinking about for a while- how your life is a little circle, and people you know intersect that circle with their own, but you only see a tiny part of their lives. There is so much about each other that we don't know. This story could be happening right now to your neighbors and you wouldn't even have a clue.

The only thing was that the wuxia scenes was a little clunky, but it did make its point.

Verdict: 5/5.

AND BONUS PICTURES.