This is one of my favorite films, I've seen it five times. A beautiful film by Ann Hui about a Cantonese girl Hueyin (Maggie Cheung) trying to be friends with her Japanese mother. Hueyin goes to Japan with her mother and there they get to know their differences and eventually understand each other. I think they understood each other the most when her mother talked of the Sino-Japanese war to Hueyin and how she and her father met. To me that was the one of the most well-acted scenes in the film. The music went well with each sad and reminiscent scene in the film, which I guess was mostly what added the drama to it. I hope Ann Hui makes more good films like this one.
5 Reviews
Ignored gem rides against the tide of Kong Kong Cinema
Mozjoukine15 February 2005
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.
Maggie Cheung has never been so beautiful,cute and full of innocence.
FilmCriticLalitRao31 July 2007
Ann Hui is a legendary filmmaker who shot to fame in 1982 after having made "Boat People"-a film about the plight of Vietnamese refugees.She is also one of the founding members of the Hong Kong new wave cinema. Song of exile is one of her best films and it is a pity that it has remained a forgotten,ignored film despite the fact that it was in the competition section of Cannes International Film Festival 1990.At the core of this film is the tale of a young girl child who has grown in two different civilizations.As she becomes adult,it is difficult for her to strike a balance between ancient customs and modernity.There is trouble for her mother also as she is from a different country. Although the film is slightly autobiographical in nature,Ann Hui has made it a point not to forget to add numerous fictional elements.Maggie Cheung is the breathtaking protagonist of the film.As the film takes places in three different places with dream like quality, it is sure that viewers would enjoy their respective geographical displacements while enjoying the film.This is a film to be seen more than once.
A beautiful moving autobiography by the Hong Kong film director Ann Hui
cewkork8 March 2008
SONG OF THE EXILE (Ke Tu Qui Hen or Hag To Tsau Hun) has to be one of my favourite films of all time. It's a moving autobiography by one of the best Hong Kong film directors, Ann Hui. This sentimental and nostalgic journey gives the audience a glance at prejudice, hatred and wars between nations, regrets, desperation and hope between peoples. The film describes the misunderstandings, relationships and love within a family. Despite the conflicts between politics and countries, when it comes down to a human level, can we put everything aside to embrace kindness to love one another? This film is beautifully shot and tells a universally recognised story of family relationship that will touch every viewer's heart.
The story is set in the 1970s. Returning to Hong Kong with a Masters Degree from London, a young Western-educated Chinese woman Hueyin (Ann Hui, played by Maggie Cheung) is involved in conflict and torn between her modern beliefs and traditional values. Through the mist of confusion, she finally finds the key to a better understanding to achieve the long withheld approval of her nagging mother. A short trip to Japan (her mother's homeland) turns out to be a turning point in their relationship.
During a visit to her beloved grandparents in Canton at the height of the Cultural Revolution, she is saddened by the hardship her grandparents have been through. Yet even at the lowest point of their disappointment at an uncertain future, her grandfather still has not given up on China, hoping the best for his granddaughter and for the country a bright future. But in her heart, she knows they are old. Will they live long enough to see this bright future?
The story is set in the 1970s. Returning to Hong Kong with a Masters Degree from London, a young Western-educated Chinese woman Hueyin (Ann Hui, played by Maggie Cheung) is involved in conflict and torn between her modern beliefs and traditional values. Through the mist of confusion, she finally finds the key to a better understanding to achieve the long withheld approval of her nagging mother. A short trip to Japan (her mother's homeland) turns out to be a turning point in their relationship.
During a visit to her beloved grandparents in Canton at the height of the Cultural Revolution, she is saddened by the hardship her grandparents have been through. Yet even at the lowest point of their disappointment at an uncertain future, her grandfather still has not given up on China, hoping the best for his granddaughter and for the country a bright future. But in her heart, she knows they are old. Will they live long enough to see this bright future?
Hopefully others can find a better version than I did
blott2319-130 October 2021
I have never had stronger evidence that the format you watch a film can have a significant impact on your experience than Song of the Exile. This entire review you're going to have to take with a massive grain of salt because the viewing experience was almost painful. The only copy I could find of the movie was a very poorly transferred DVD, which looked like it had just been recorded straight from a shoddy VHS tape. Then there's the fact that the captions were shown in 2 different languages on the screen so they took up the bottom 3rd of the frame, and they were always in white even though they were often printed over bright/white things so I couldn't make out some text. This also added to the "copied from VHS" appearance of the movie, because these captions were not something programmed into the DVD, they were always on the screen as if they were emblazoned on the original negative. If I didn't know better, I would have guessed this was shot in 1970, not 1990.
There's also the fact that part of the purpose of Song of the Exile is highlighting cultural differences, and how there can be a lack of communication between the Chinese and Japanese, but I don't understand either of those languages, so I can't tell when someone's speaking which dialect. It kind of spoils the depth of the story. I felt quite lost with Song of the Exile, and didn't even realize until I read some plot details on Wikipedia that there were flashbacks in the movie. Needless to say, this entire film sailed over my head. What little of the plot I did follow was not very compelling to me. I was underwhelmed by this divide between mother and daughter, and felt that the film lacked the kind of endearing moments I would expect to emotionally connect me to the characters. I'd probably try Song of the Exile again if someone asked nicely and had a decent print of the film, but this viewing experience was all-around bad.
There's also the fact that part of the purpose of Song of the Exile is highlighting cultural differences, and how there can be a lack of communication between the Chinese and Japanese, but I don't understand either of those languages, so I can't tell when someone's speaking which dialect. It kind of spoils the depth of the story. I felt quite lost with Song of the Exile, and didn't even realize until I read some plot details on Wikipedia that there were flashbacks in the movie. Needless to say, this entire film sailed over my head. What little of the plot I did follow was not very compelling to me. I was underwhelmed by this divide between mother and daughter, and felt that the film lacked the kind of endearing moments I would expect to emotionally connect me to the characters. I'd probably try Song of the Exile again if someone asked nicely and had a decent print of the film, but this viewing experience was all-around bad.
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