Kathy Chan
The Home Song Stories
Australia, 2007, 103 min
Hands down, The Home Song Stories is one of the best movies at the 2007 Vancouver International Film Festival and definitely worth watching. Director Tony Ayres knows how to write a story that illustrates how a childhood of displacement and confusion leads to a lifetime of doubt and love that is presumed to be “lost.” Set in 1970s Australia, this is a non-conventional story about a lounge singer from Hong Kong who marries an Australian and moves with her two children to a foreign city. Rose Hong, played by the graceful, luminous Joan Chen, is a mother struggling to do all she can for the love of her children. While focusing her love on her extra-marital affair with a younger kitchen chef, she battles alcoholism and addiction before the eyes of her kids. Told through the eyes of Rose’s son, Tom, this story of self-corruption and familial bonds highlights the perfection of the relationships established through the film. The film proves that much of the past shapes an individual to be the person they are as an adult. With heavy topics of childhood and familial discomforts, Ayres hits the right targets as he generates a moving story of growth, longing, and a lifetime of unanswered questions. |
