home song stories

the home song stories is a riveting tale of a Chinese lady, Rose, who was stunningly played by Joan Chen, with two kids in tow in Australia, who went to meet an Uncle Bill, after years with diferent uncles in Hong Kong.



this was one of the opening scenes, where joan chen perform's lin dai's wang bu liao.. mesmering, seductive, reminiscent of the old smoky hk jazz bars..

it was 1971..and that was the year that their lives would change forever.



what follows is a tale of family breakdown, love, lust, yet the universal theme of belonging

rose longs to be with someone who loves her above everthing else
her kids simply long for a simple family life..

and what happens if you do not achieve it?

Uncle Bill was a good man, played like a typical caucasian sinophile patheticness
why was he drawn initially, and still remain captivated by rose was not known
but that is life, where you simply could not let go the best thing that ever happened to you..

yet he, was not the best thing that ever happened to rose
and off she left, and met the handsome Joe, played by the subtly charming Qi YuWu
who i personally feel is Singapore's answer to jude Law, yet a bit more sedated.



it was far from a match made in heaven.
rose wanted stability
joe wanted the carefree life he once had
and the connection wif a younger person
and this connection he had with May, was the breaking point for rose
who accuses her very own daughter, of robbing her mum's very own happiness

this was the catalyst of rose's downward spiral
and you see, the degeneration of rose's own beauty
the cracks in her life..her heart.. and her beauty

how a once well received HK songbird.. stumbled to being a lowly dishwasher in an Australian chinese restaurant

what happened towards the end, left a huge lump on my throat
did tom try to find closure? or was he still hurt by his mother's flaws?
was he still full of hatred? did he now understand why his mother made such decisions..

perhaps what rose really wanted in life, was her children's acceptance

yes, they had a poor life, and she tried to make it work

she used what she had, her beauty, her charm, her seduction

but when a woman loses it all.. how can she hold on to the things she believed in in life?

The Home Song Stories, i'd give it a 4 out of 5

simply because the themes resonate with me

i would love to meet Tony Ayres

and ask him one question...

have you forgiven your mum?

cos i'd wanna know if im capable of doing so too..