While others have discussed their concern regarding the "reward" of Ho San as escaping with the woman that he raped to a free Hong Kong, no one so far has addressed the impact of Ho San's parents on the overall story - nor the impact of their deaths on his ultimate reversal.
Throughout the story, whether it is their attendance at Mass during Ho San's speech or assisting during birth of Siu Lan's child or their ultimate murder during the response to the villagers' riot in the mission's chapel, Ho San's parents were the anchor of the faithful, the always believing Chinese catholics. His parents' steadfast commitment to the parish and the priests themselves lend support to the mission and the church from a congregant's perspective and also show their devoutness even in the face of having a son who was the high ranking communist in the village - one who was previously an alter boy as well as a potential candidate for the priesthood.
I think that the writers/director were showing the impact, however subtle, of their killing in the chapel and their bearing of the crucifix during the riot - they never wavered in their devotion to the church. The movie also shows Ho San's reaction from behind to the killing - he's standing very stiffly, suppressing his sobs and trying not to show his wiping of tears. For a devout son in the Chinese culture, the death of one's parents clearly has an impact as well as the manner of their death - their unceasing devotion to the church - might well be seen as the final reason for his decision to abandon the communist party. I think that many of the users who have responded to date have failed to see the embedding of the story in a Chinese cultural context. The parallelism also not drawn by others is in his parents carrying the cross into the chapel cannot be missed by someone who was been raised a Catholic.
Another point raised is Siu Lan's acceptance of Ho San as a husband in the context of the movie. Given her parochial upbringing in both Catholic and Confucian cultures, Siu Lan's only hope of redemption and support would have been to find a husband - literally any man who would marry her - given that she has to be married in order to be a mother and the overwhelming need to make sure that her child has a family context. Whether or not Ho San's decision was impacted by the fact that the baby was a boy should also be considered - but I'll let the community debate that one. Also, that there was a civil war underway and that conflict on the mainland had been going on since the late 1920's, Siu Lan's decision on needing a husband as well as her maturation as a responsible mothering character seems to be obvious.
For myself, I was more troubled by the use of Cantonese as the dialect of the people in this movie. If this village were as hard to get to as the movie made it out to be, it would surely be far away from areas where Cantonese is the dominant dialect. Because of this and other factors, I think it is obvious that the movie was clearly intended for Western audiences and should be considered in that context. Also, given the time when the movie itself was written and released, the true brutality of the takeover period is not nor could not be reflected in the movie. Additionally, the giving of receipts for things such as the jeep or the mission is representative of the bureaucratic/absurdist view of the communist system during the 1950's and 60's.
I would encourage everyone to appreciate this movie from not only the context in which it was written and filmed but also from the collision of cultures that are juxtaposed and intertwined.
Throughout the story, whether it is their attendance at Mass during Ho San's speech or assisting during birth of Siu Lan's child or their ultimate murder during the response to the villagers' riot in the mission's chapel, Ho San's parents were the anchor of the faithful, the always believing Chinese catholics. His parents' steadfast commitment to the parish and the priests themselves lend support to the mission and the church from a congregant's perspective and also show their devoutness even in the face of having a son who was the high ranking communist in the village - one who was previously an alter boy as well as a potential candidate for the priesthood.
I think that the writers/director were showing the impact, however subtle, of their killing in the chapel and their bearing of the crucifix during the riot - they never wavered in their devotion to the church. The movie also shows Ho San's reaction from behind to the killing - he's standing very stiffly, suppressing his sobs and trying not to show his wiping of tears. For a devout son in the Chinese culture, the death of one's parents clearly has an impact as well as the manner of their death - their unceasing devotion to the church - might well be seen as the final reason for his decision to abandon the communist party. I think that many of the users who have responded to date have failed to see the embedding of the story in a Chinese cultural context. The parallelism also not drawn by others is in his parents carrying the cross into the chapel cannot be missed by someone who was been raised a Catholic.
Another point raised is Siu Lan's acceptance of Ho San as a husband in the context of the movie. Given her parochial upbringing in both Catholic and Confucian cultures, Siu Lan's only hope of redemption and support would have been to find a husband - literally any man who would marry her - given that she has to be married in order to be a mother and the overwhelming need to make sure that her child has a family context. Whether or not Ho San's decision was impacted by the fact that the baby was a boy should also be considered - but I'll let the community debate that one. Also, that there was a civil war underway and that conflict on the mainland had been going on since the late 1920's, Siu Lan's decision on needing a husband as well as her maturation as a responsible mothering character seems to be obvious.
For myself, I was more troubled by the use of Cantonese as the dialect of the people in this movie. If this village were as hard to get to as the movie made it out to be, it would surely be far away from areas where Cantonese is the dominant dialect. Because of this and other factors, I think it is obvious that the movie was clearly intended for Western audiences and should be considered in that context. Also, given the time when the movie itself was written and released, the true brutality of the takeover period is not nor could not be reflected in the movie. Additionally, the giving of receipts for things such as the jeep or the mission is representative of the bureaucratic/absurdist view of the communist system during the 1950's and 60's.
I would encourage everyone to appreciate this movie from not only the context in which it was written and filmed but also from the collision of cultures that are juxtaposed and intertwined.