The
list of artists who have performed “The House of the Rising Sun” includes some
truly impressive names, like Leadbelly, Josh White, Nina Simone, and the
Wynners. You would know the latter if you grew up in Hong Kong during the
1970s. They actually started out as “The Loosers,” with a second “o” for extra
fun. Their “Behind-the-Music” triumphs and mostly tribulations come to the big
screen in The House of the Rising Sons,
directed by Wynners drummer Antony Chan, which screens during the 2018 New York Asian Film Festival.
It
started out as a garage band despised by their working-class neighborhood,
especially by Ah Kin (a.k.a. led guitarist Bennett Pang)’s tailor father. He and
Ah Keung (a.k.a. bassist Danny Yip) and drummer Ah Yau (Chan) were going nowhere
until the band’s charisma index shot up dramatically with the addition of lead
vocalist Alan Tam, and vocalist-rhythm guitarist Kenny Bee. However, there was
always a bit of a divide between the pretty boy singers and the grudge kids
rhythm section.
Regardless
of Tam and Bee’s star potential, the Loosers’ early days were full of
scuffling, as you would expect from a name like that. Just when they would make
a little progress, they would fall back again. Of course, when the band finally
hits, Tam is almost immediately pressured to go solo.
Rising Sons should be an
upbeat, candy-colored nostalgia trip, similar in vibe to Tom Hanks’
underappreciated That Thing You Do. However,
the tone is just all over the place. It is not exactly clear what Chan was
going for, but he makes most of the band look like thoughtless jerks and gives
the impression he is an anti-social space-case. Frankly, it is rather
unpleasant spending time with the Fab Five.
Still,
Kara Wai is terrific in her brief scenes as Keung’s mom. Simon Yam gives a
characteristically expansive performance as Kin’s dad, but seeing him play an
insecure father figure in a period setting brings back memories of his exceptional
work in the beautifully bittersweet Echoes of the Rainbow.
