The story of Zhiqiang Bai's "Like Father and Son" is one that will seem familiar, with themes we can probably see coming a mile off, as we start to write our own, predictable tagline for the film. What Bai's film does have, however, is an incredibly strong performance from its young lead Zeze Bai and an ending that isn't quite the fairy tale you'd expect.
In a small, rural village Maodou (Zeze Bai) lives with his grandmother, while his father supposedly works away in the city to make money. A travelling vendor, Gouren (Wang-jun Hui), rolls up in his van to sell his wares to local children, before driving off to the next village. But, with Maodou's grandmother's passing, he is left with no real family to look after him, and so sneaks into the unsuspecting Gouren's van when he next passes through.
Naturally, Gouren is angered and demands payment for damages Maodou has caused; and this is Maodou's aim: for Gouren to drive him to his father. What follows is an odd-couple road trip, as they bungle their way across China to find the construction site where Moudou's father works. But it would appear that Maodou has been fed some lies, and his father is hard to track-down, moving from site-to-site, leaving some tall tales in his wake.
"Like Father and Son" is something of an 'everyfilm' in that it has something for everyone. The duo's developing relationship brings with it comedy as they travel, peddle and toilet together on the road. But there is an undeniable sadness throughout, with Maodou a young boy essentially orphaned and rejected; while Gouren struggles to come to terms with his own son's death, of which he is constantly reminded. The son's death adds hints of revenge and anger in Gouren as he meets people from his past along the way; as well as Maodou's anger at any adult who stands in his way of finding a family. Social comment is also on the cards, with Maodou's father leaving a trail of seemingly abandoned construction sites along the way, showing a booming economy creates many poor decisions, and with it fathers abandoning their families in pursuit of fortune.
Bai handles all these elements with a skilled hand, as this travel log becomes something of a love letter to the land. The meagre means of Maodou's village, with homes built in cliff faces, shows the vast emptiness of much of China's landscape and the poverty that inhabits it, contrasted with the brash, bustling cityscapes of construction sites and the ferocious pursuit of cash. Maodou is not the only lost son.
But the film's standout is the young Bai's performance as Maodou. With an ability to switch between the irresistibly cute to the tough street kid at the drop of a hat, he shows good range and variety in his performance, depicting genuine sadness that never feels forced and is always powerful. Hui obliges, playing Gouren as a man constantly in a state of grimace as he struggles seemingly against the whole world.
An obvious comparison would be Takeshi Kitano's "Kikujiro", with many moments feeling like updates on scenes from the Japanese film. But "Like Father and Son" is a film with more heart, and rather than meeting a collection of colourful characters along the way, they mainly meet people they want to fight, and the two characters connect more, like, well, a father and son.
Bai also gives us no sort of conclusion on the ending. As Gouren returns Maodou to his village, he then drives away leaving both in tears. Both have grown close and are better for their shared experience, but can Gouren be an actual father to Maodou? Bai leaves things at that. There is no conclusion or happy ending to suggest all will be good in the world if Gouren takes Maodou on. The abandoned ending is the most fitting.
Politic1983.home.blog.
In a small, rural village Maodou (Zeze Bai) lives with his grandmother, while his father supposedly works away in the city to make money. A travelling vendor, Gouren (Wang-jun Hui), rolls up in his van to sell his wares to local children, before driving off to the next village. But, with Maodou's grandmother's passing, he is left with no real family to look after him, and so sneaks into the unsuspecting Gouren's van when he next passes through.
Naturally, Gouren is angered and demands payment for damages Maodou has caused; and this is Maodou's aim: for Gouren to drive him to his father. What follows is an odd-couple road trip, as they bungle their way across China to find the construction site where Moudou's father works. But it would appear that Maodou has been fed some lies, and his father is hard to track-down, moving from site-to-site, leaving some tall tales in his wake.
"Like Father and Son" is something of an 'everyfilm' in that it has something for everyone. The duo's developing relationship brings with it comedy as they travel, peddle and toilet together on the road. But there is an undeniable sadness throughout, with Maodou a young boy essentially orphaned and rejected; while Gouren struggles to come to terms with his own son's death, of which he is constantly reminded. The son's death adds hints of revenge and anger in Gouren as he meets people from his past along the way; as well as Maodou's anger at any adult who stands in his way of finding a family. Social comment is also on the cards, with Maodou's father leaving a trail of seemingly abandoned construction sites along the way, showing a booming economy creates many poor decisions, and with it fathers abandoning their families in pursuit of fortune.
Bai handles all these elements with a skilled hand, as this travel log becomes something of a love letter to the land. The meagre means of Maodou's village, with homes built in cliff faces, shows the vast emptiness of much of China's landscape and the poverty that inhabits it, contrasted with the brash, bustling cityscapes of construction sites and the ferocious pursuit of cash. Maodou is not the only lost son.
But the film's standout is the young Bai's performance as Maodou. With an ability to switch between the irresistibly cute to the tough street kid at the drop of a hat, he shows good range and variety in his performance, depicting genuine sadness that never feels forced and is always powerful. Hui obliges, playing Gouren as a man constantly in a state of grimace as he struggles seemingly against the whole world.
An obvious comparison would be Takeshi Kitano's "Kikujiro", with many moments feeling like updates on scenes from the Japanese film. But "Like Father and Son" is a film with more heart, and rather than meeting a collection of colourful characters along the way, they mainly meet people they want to fight, and the two characters connect more, like, well, a father and son.
Bai also gives us no sort of conclusion on the ending. As Gouren returns Maodou to his village, he then drives away leaving both in tears. Both have grown close and are better for their shared experience, but can Gouren be an actual father to Maodou? Bai leaves things at that. There is no conclusion or happy ending to suggest all will be good in the world if Gouren takes Maodou on. The abandoned ending is the most fitting.
Politic1983.home.blog.
