It
is never easy for families to deal with mental illness issues, but it is
especially difficult in Hong Kong, thanks to the high population density,
hyper-connected social media, and iffy social services. At least that is the
grim portrait painted in one of Hong Kong’s most lauded indie films of the
year. Chosen as Hong Kong’s official foreign language Oscar submission (and
previously a selection of the 2017 NYAFF), Wong Chun’s Mad World (trailer
here) screens during the 2017 Asian World Film Festival.
Wong
Sai-tung has been somewhat stabilized, but he is really being released jut to
free up his bed. His estranged father Wong Tai-hoi agrees to take custody, even
though he rents a shockingly small space in a sub-divided flat. Tai-hoi accepts
fully responsibility for his absentee parenting, but his late ex-wife Lui
Yuen-yung is probably just as much to blame. Like Tung, she probably also
wrestled with some sort of bipolar condition and most certainly suffered from
dementia late in life. Tung was her primary care-giver, but she was not an easy
patient to look after. In fact, she directly contributed to his breakdown.
This
would be an opportunity for Tai-hoi to redeem himself, but Florence Chan’s
screenplay is never so simplistic or Pollyannaish. The working-class father
will try his best for his former stockbroker son, but he is ill-equipped to
deal with such challenges. Regardless, Tung may very well reach a point where
he does not want to be helped.
Right,
we are definitely talking about some jolly fun stuff here. As if the mental
health themes were not depressing enough, Wong and Chan also give viewers a
good look at how the marginalized live in today’s Hong Kong. Their dorm
room-like quarters make a Manhattan studio look like a palace. They also have a
great deal to say about online bullying and uninformed prejudices against
mental illness survivors (they’re generally opposed to both).
Reportedly,
this film could not have been made without Eric Tsang’s salary concession. That
was probably a good investment on his part, because he has subsequently racked up
numerous awards and nominations for his portrayal of Tung’s father. This is a
radical departure from the goofy comic roles he is known and even beloved for.
Normally, he is such a larger than life presence, but he looks so small here.
It is a quiet, acutely dignified turn, but guilt and remorse just seem to
stream out of his every pore.
Likewise,
Shawn Yue does some of his best work possibly ever as the profoundly damaged
Tung. Again, it is not a loud, showy performance, but it resonates deeply.
Charmaine Fong further piles on the emotional pain as Jenny Tam, Tung’ ex-wife
who was left holding the couple’s financial bag. Her work is harrowingly
intense, but the scene in which she verbally condemns Tung while testifying in
an Evangelical Christian church was a tin-eared mistake Wong probably already
regrets.
Mad World is often hard to
watch, but that is mostly a credit to Wong and his cast. There are no easy
answers or easy outs in this film. However, the real story is just how
convincingly HK superstars Tsang and Yue portray such lost and broken people.
Highly recommended, especially for Oscar voters, Mad World screens this Friday morning (10/27) and Saturday night
(10/28) as part of the 2017 Asian World Film Festival, in Culver City.
