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Award
at the Hong Kong Film Awards 2003:
Best New Artist (Eugenia Yuan)
Nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards 2003:
Best Picture
Best Director (Peter Chan)
Best Screenplay (Jojo Hui & Matt Chow)
Best Actor (Leon Lai)
Best Supporting Actress (Eugenia Yuan)
Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle)
Best Editing (Kwong Chi-Leung)
Best Art Direction (Hai Chung Man)
Best Original Film Score (Cho Sung-Woo & Peter Kam)
Awards at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards 2003:
Best Director (Peter Chan)
Film Of Merit
Awards at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards 2002:
Best Actor (Leon Lai)
Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle)
Nominations at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards 2002:
Best Picture
Best Director (Peter Chan)
Best Editing (Kwong Chi-Leung)
Best Art Direction (Hai Chung Man)
Best Make-up & Costume Design (Dora Ng)
The
horror anthology Three brought together Korean director
Kim Ji-Wun (The Foul King), Thailand's Nonzee Nimibutr
(Jan Dara) and Peter Chan, the man behind the wonderful
Hong Kong romance Comrades, Almost A Love Story. The
finished product was a mixed bag but the idea itself was very
welcome. Easily the best out of the three segments was Peter
Chan's Going Home, the story the least connected to
the horror genre and more to the drama one. Director Chan
was so pleased with Leon Lai's performance in particular that
he subsequently decided to take Going Home on its own
onto the cinema circuit, add new footage not seen in the original
cut and the result was met with more acclaim in the form of
awards in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. The film was Peter Chan's
first directing gig since Comrades and it also reunited
several of that projects key members including actor Eric
Tsang, cinematographer Christopher Doyle (actually was acting
in Comrades only) art director Hai Chung Man and Make-up
& Costume Designer Dora Ng.
CID officer Chan (Eric Tsang) and his son Cheung (Li Ting-Fung)
moves into an apartment complex that is set for to be tore
down in one month. All tenants have gone except Mr. Yu (Leon
Lai) and his wife Hai'er (Eugenia Yuan). The super explains
to Chan that the wife is paralyzed from the waist down but
Chan is going to uncover another truth. While desperately
searching for his son, he enters Yu's apartment and finds
the wife dead in the bathtub. From here on starts a three
day ordeal for Chan as he's kidnapped and forced to know the
real truth about Yu's life. It turns out he is treating Hai'er
with Chinese medicine and she revives in three days according
to him...
Based on the short story by Su Chao-Pin, Going Home's
screenplay, penned by Jojo Hui and Matt Chow, is a rarity
in today's Hong Kong cinema for the most simple of reasons;
it's actually good, has great emotion and doesn't try and
dig itself into a hole by employing tired genre twists. Instead
what we have here is a excellent drama asking the age old
question: how deep is your love? Peter had the privilege of
working with a great screenplay in Comrades also and
brings a definite respect in his handling of the material.
You can sense there was a quietness, calmness in the Going
Home events as written and that clearly is the case for
the finished movie as well. Actually, Peter seems to delight,
in the initial stages of the film, to make the audience think
that this will be a terrifying, tense ride. It all starts
when we slowly get to know the, about to be demolished, apartment
complex Chan and his son moves into. Set to washed out and
bleak cinematography by Christopher Doyle and matching design
work, Peter creates an edgy atmosphere both through the images
of the girl in red and terrific sound design. Actually, this
is not just a director fooling the audience. As it turns out,
it is very much an integral piece to the puzzle but after
coming off the visual ride from Korea, the frankly boring
and confusing Thai segment, director Chan I think, in the
back off his head, still wanted to have a little fun while
not losing sight of the shorter than usual narrative.
Going Home really is a superb example of equal amounts
of show and tell. The story involves both quiet passages meaning
much and talky ones meaning even more. However there is a
balance here which makes Going Home suitable for even
lazier audiences if you will. The core and theme of the movie,
represented by Yu and his dead wife, is easily picked up on
and while not melodramatic, is deeply touching as it turns
out. Yu has great beliefs in Chinese medicine and obviously
when we begin seeing his existence currently, we classify
him as a madman. However, his quiethood that carries over
to his overall mannerisms shows a genuine belief, a belief
in something purely Chinese and it's throughout the movie
both Chan and we as an audience will have to make up our mind
before the revelation in the carefully laid out climax. Chan,
stuck in the situation, is not a clear cut believer since
he basically wants to get out to search for his son. He never
reaches arrogance though but just harshly offers his view
on Yu's situation. The two do connect, in an unspoken way,
via their longing for the return of the only love of their
lives.
As for the added footage to this director's cut, it mainly
revolves around Chan and his son. It nicely adds some background
to Chan's wife as well as decent weight to the father/son
relationship. Also the subplot regarding Cheung and the girl
is slightly expanded while the film also gets a new last scene.
The cut runs approximately 4 minutes longer. To get a view
at the differences in the director's cut, visit the Three:
Going Home Deleted & Extended Scenes Gallery.
The acting on display is near on perfect. Leon Lai leads
the pack with a performance that suits his talents. He's not
Mr. Charisma but when directed well, as in Comrades,
he can look much competent. He brings out Yu in an astonishing
way. Quiet, methodic and 100% dedicated to only one thing
in his life. Leon also delivers when an intensity is called
for and communicates his love for Hai'er into the heart of
the viewer. Definitely Leon's best performance. Eric Tsang
has finally proven that his goofier side is easily forgotten
when performing in dramatic offerings. Chan has an situation
with his son where he apparently has to move around, even
to temporary settings, but never is there any doubt that he
does what he does in life for the well-being of his son. There's
a strict behaviour to him but he's never far away to his loving
sides either. Eric again proves his versatility and how he
can use his face to communicate what is required. Quiet acting
is exhilarating to watch when it's performed well and seeing
as Chan has to witness a lot, we get an amount of that here.
Eugenia Yuan however is the true breakout here. The majority
of her acting consists of being still and even naked at times,
an aspect that doesn't approach exploitative in any way. The
small breakouts into dialogue from her only heard by Yu are
nailed by this newcomer and when she does briefly have longer
dialogue, she seals the stamp off approval of not only her
performance but the movie also. It adds even more to the emotion
of Peter Chan's film. I heard Eugenia is pursuing a career
in America instead but I'm hoping to see her back in Hong
Kong cinema soon.
With Going Home, Peter Chan doesn't miss his story
beats. Even with the revelations all up till the end, he keeps
tremendous focus and delivers a thoughtful, touching message
about deep love and beliefs. Combine that expert storytelling
with Christopher Doyle's cinematography, Hai Chung Man's art
direction and you have a gem of a drama that proves Peter
Chan, despite his break in this capacity, is still a director
that delivers. Going Home was definitely one of the
finest examples of Hong Kong cinema during 2002.
The DVD:
Panorama presents the film in an 1.85:1 aspect
ratio approximately and the presentation looks flawed but
it's supposed to. Colours are washed out and bleak plus grain
is clearly visible at times. To my eyes anyway, except a few
specks on the print, the intentional design is well presented.
I saw no quality problems with the added footage either. Worth
mentioning that Panorama hasn't redone the opening credits
since they also feature the other directors names. The end
credits also cover the entire production of Three.
The Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 track is in
heavier use during the beginning. All channels are put to
great use and when the movie calms down, the important element
of dialogue is clear sounding. Cantonese DTS 5.1 and Stereo
tracks are also available.
The English subtitles are free of grammar
and spelling errors as far as I could see. Seemed identical
to the prior release of Going Home and the added scenes
subtitles are kept to a high standard also. A set of Chinese
subtitles is also included.
Extras consist of an unsubtitled audio
commentary, Chinese only biographies for Peter Chan, Eric
Tsang, Leon Lai and Eugenia Yuan and the making of
Going Home (15 minutes, 31 seconds). This program
comes with optional English and Chinese subtitles. Going
Home is the main focus here while Korea's Memories
and Thailand's The Wheel only get a few minutes each,
which is not enough time give us any extensive amounts of
information. The look at Going Home is fairly informative
and features cast & interviews with more intelligent praise
than usually found in these programs. Too short to be actually
good though but nice to have. The English subtitles tend to
miss finishing sentences here and there but are helpful nonetheless.
reviewed by Kenneth
Brorsson
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