One of the chief attractions of a film is the dramatic situation of conflicts. Characters in the story must be actively opposed to each other and it is good, perhaps sadistically, for the audience to watch people who are involved in conflicts as to how they will resolve, or sometimes for the better, how they fail to resolve the conflicts.
For Kearen Pang’s (彭秀慧) lately directed film Mama’s Affair (阿媽有咗第二個), the dramatic situation of conflicts get introduced more gradually and subtly, as the action unfolds. The film succeeds in getting all the touching ingredients together and makes a tasty cherry pie. Kearen is an exceptional multi-talent in Hong Kong.
The film stars Teresa Mo (毛舜筠) as a housewife who is an ex-manager of successful performing artists, Keung To (姜濤) as a lovable young restaurant waiter who can sing very well and Jer (柳應廷) in the role of the son of Mo who is about to leave Hong Kong for overseas university education. Mo discovered her husband was having an affair with her best friend. She bravely suggested that a separation would be the best course and the man left home. Her past career experience gave her the confidence to start her own business. Keung was scouted and groomed to be a superstar but because of his family tragic problem, Mo asked him to move into her flat. The film then logically consists of conflicts between the 2 boys and among the 4 as well.
Families can go along for years without ever testing the underlying forces in their relationships. Sometimes, a crisis can bring everything and everyone out in the open, unexpectedly and unhappily, when each one is most vulnerable. Kearen, my acquaintance, skillfully demonstrates through her film achievement this time that if you take your time, write a good script, plan carefully and know exactly what market that you are hitting, the audience will be captured and clap hands. It is great to know that the movie is a box office success.
The film flawlessly brings out above-the-ordinary results of acting, cinematography and storytelling. Kearen Pang graduated from Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and was a stage actress and playwright. In 2017, the opportunity of being in charge of making a film as a director came. Her first film 29+1 (about 2 women nervously facing the unfulfilled desire to get married at the age of 30) won several awards for Kearen. She is the rare Hong Kong director who does well both on the stage and in the film industry. The difference between the 2 for her may be plausibly the extent of fame and income level.
Teresa Mo is a great film actress in Hong Kong who is praised for her good sense of humour and the ability to manipulate audience. Her impressive acting is about burning inside with an outer ease and elegance. I was almost able to work with her on one occasion many years ago and her wise analysis of a script really made me feel that I was warmly appreciated. Teresa’s emotional skill to interpret drama is outstanding among all actresses in Hong Kong.
Keung To and Jer are the members of the hottest vocal group in Hong Kong consisting of 12 young male singers. In the film, Keung dances and sings, giving as usual ‘yummy’ choreographed performances for his teenage and middle-aged female fans. Jer is undoubtedly the best singer in the group of MIRROR. Playfully deprived by the director of the good time to sing in the film, Jer acts surprisingly like a professional actor. His tone of voice, gesture, facial expression and the like are vivaciously presented.
One does not achieve great success by merely following the basic rules. The compliance with such basic rules in her 2 movies nevertheless gave Kearen a solid foundation to build up her future. Film can sometimes be a melodrama or an entertainment. There is unspokenly a hidden urge or an emotion lurking under the facade for a true artist to create an artistically excellent work of art which can connect the deep sulcus in his or her brain. Mama’s Affair does give Kearen a Grade B. The challenge is what can set this female director in motion to get all her tools ready and collect her ‘Grade B+1’ in the next piece of good work!
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