I inadvertently ended up watching “The Home Song Stories” which is an autobiographical account of Tony Ayres (the film director/writer) living in Australia after moving from Hong Kong in the late 1960’s with his mother and sister (when Chinese accounted for only 0.4% of the population, unlike today). I’d like to say it’s a happy story but it’s not, and is quite depressing as Rose (the mother) shuffles Tom and Mei from home to home as she meets and exploits different men or leaves for various reasons on a singularly self-destructive course due to her insecurities in life and total lack of real world skills.
Ultimately the film is an effective catharsis for Tony Ayres to shed light on his life and story which as a child he was unable to do so in the final denouement of his relationship with his mother. Rose is played by Joan Chen who is apparently quite popular mainland China (however, I haven’t seen her in anything else) with little known actors/actress Qi Yuwu, Joel Lok and Irene Chen as Joe, Tom and Mei respectively. Kudoes should be given for a pretty accurate portrayal of Australia during those times since they seem to have long passed away now; the small details add quite a lot of interesting touches to the film.
Anyhow, if you like these sorts of films you can catch it on the art house cinema circuits, the main web site is here.
Dear Philip,
I have not seen the movie, but I am more interested in talking to Toy Ayres, the film-maker. I am a mother, responsible for my 22-year-old son’s past nine years spent in Australia as an immigrant, during which he entered a selective high school, did a bechelor’s degree and is now working full time with a financil institution. Four years earlier | came to Australia with a scholarship, which was financially the only means for me to commence a life here.
My son gives me the strongest sense of fulfillment, although I have spend over 13 years as a sinble mother in the true sense. I am so proud to have managed to provide my son with a stable home, where a mother’s love is always found. It is so much worth it, when I have the opposite story told by Tony Ayres. I feel very sorry for Tony, who must have carried a very heary emotioanl burdon all these years until managing come closer to his mother’s love in this way.
As a mother, what can I say is that she always has to place her childrens’s happiness first, since she has brought them to this world.
Thanks for sharing,
Lily