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SUMMER
SNOW (1994)
A.K.A.
- Woman, Forty
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Though
Ann Hui has accrued a global reputation almost unique among
Hong Kong film-makers, she remains a director who sharply
divides critics and audiences in her local territory. It seems
one person's slice of social realism is another's preachy
polemic and rarely do the twain meet. Her out-spoken comments
about some of her contemporaries have done little to endear
her to many, but even her sternest critic cannot call
into question her ability. 'Summer Snow' is perhaps the
optimum culmination of her skill, a film that came as close to
unifying the two Ann Hui-opinion camps.
The
industrious Sun family (headed by the outstanding pairing of
Josephine Siao and Law Kar-Ying) toil away in their various
trades, desperately trying to work their way out of the
dilapidated house they currently occupy. Mr Sun's parents make
regular visits to their eldest son and daughter-in-law though
the curmudgeonly father has a habit of upsetting everyone, a
trait put down to old age. When Mr. Sun's mother collapses
dead and the father declares that she is 'just being lazy',
the senior citizen is taken to the hospital and diagnosed with
Alzheimer's Disease. As the other children make excuses as to
why they cannot care for him, it is left to the eldest son and
the daughter-in-law to nurse him through this emotionally
draining illness.
'Summer
Snow' was deluged with plaudits at the Hong Kong Film Awards,
including ones for 'Best Film', 'Best Director', 'Best Actor'
(Roy Chiao) and 'Best Actress' (Josephine Siao). This
supremely crafted drama is one of those rare treasures that
actually deserved every award bestowed upon it and more
besides. Battles against illness are notoriously hard to bring
to the screen; too many become sentimental soap-operas while
others tend to distance their audience from the characters and
hardships. Ann Hui manages to create an uplifting, yet
impelling human story where one is never patronised by the
material nor forced into a particular emotion with some
sweeping cinematic score. That she has made such a film in a
territory not known for its sensitive handling of such matters
is a accomplishment in itself.
Favouring
intimate shots and a crowded mise-en-scene, Hui develops a
sense of social realism without 'Summer Snow' becoming just
another left wing sermon. We actually begin to take the
uncomfortable surroundings for granted rather than feel that
social inequalities are being rammed down our throat, though
the subtle rhetoric does exert some power. Hui mostly uses
diagetic music which adds a certain Dickensian reality that
orchestrated music tends to eat away at. Even when Hui does
use a soundtrack it is jarring and discordant - very
appropriate for the confusion that every character in the
story is enveloped by.
Ann
Hui has rarely been able to achieve her goals this effectively
and her control over this project deserves special
commendation. She retains a patience with her characters, an
allowance for them to grow and develop over the course of the
100 or so minutes. This means that 'Summer Snow' is a human
drama at its heart and anyone who has seen the effects of this
deplorable illness will no doubt be moved by its execution
here. Hui, though, manages to make the eventual goal an
uplifting one; the bond between Josephine Siao as the
hard-working matriarch and the sublime Roy Chiao is at times
difficult, but ultimately rewarding for both parties and the
viewer.
There
is an overwhelming sadness about seeing the late Roy Chiao
playing someone gradually dying and his fight to retain
dignity. To many he will always be 'that guy from 'Enter The
Dragon', a fact that is very galling when one considers just
how exceptional his performance is here. Chiao shows how harsh
the disease is and how it is a Herculean task for family
members to keep a firm grip on their emotions while the one
they love barely recognises them. Josephine Siao gives a
career best performance as the imperious Mrs Sun and, though
she still succumbs to a few misplaced moments of ill-judged
comic staging, she is an authentic character who is far
removed from Hollywood heroics. Both performers are at their
very best and a special mention should go to Law Kar-Ying for
being every bit their equal on screen here.
'Summer
Snow' is an outstanding piece of cinema. It's gritty, truthful
tone and flawless cast manage to take a sub-genre fraught with
cliché and melodrama and give it a provocative resonance that
is so very precious. It may be difficult to locate on any
format at the moment, but any effort to find it will be
rewarded a hundred-fold.
Rating:
 
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