When Hong Kong director 扬凡 (or Yonfan) 's latest production "Prince of Tears" 《泪王子》 reached the shores of our sunny island in May, I knew I cannot afford to miss it. At least I knew it would be a better choice than watching commercial films that
(a) cost more than the GDP of an African country,
(b) boast more computer graphics than an Olympic swimming pool,
(c) cast lousy artistes that cannot act to save their lives no matter how good the script is, or
(d) all of the above.
This melancholic film is a beautiful dramatisation of slivers of Yonfan's childhood memories and by far, contained the true accounts of a pair of Taiwanese sisters that lived through Taiwan's "White Terror Period" (戒严时期). From 1949 to the 1950s, the nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek relocated to Taiwan, and imposed martial law and strict one-party dictatorship. The radical campaign to exercise nationalism saw the State imprisoned, tortured and killed numerous political opponents in subsequent years. It was a dark chapter that left scarred memories and questions unanswered...
"眼泪，只是故事的開端"，而 "故事，就是已经故去的事……俱往矣。"
An airforce pilot Han Sheng from a typical military settlement Qing Quan Village One 清泉一村 was living a comfortable life many people admire. But he was arrested one fine day on charges for flying into communist China's territorial airspace. His best friend Xiao Ding could have testified and acquitted him, but betrayed him to covet Han Sheng's wife Wan Ping. As if Yonfan was afraid the movie was too one-dimensional, a portion of the film zeroed on Wan Ping's platonic relationship with her childhood friend Ouyang Qian Jun. The characters were intertwined in their struggle for love, idealogy, and sanity during the turbulent period. The biggest losers in the game were the children Xiao Zhou and Xiao Li, who lost their dad and suffered great emotional stress.
The sombre story was contrasted by lush scenery, beautiful costumes, elaborate music score, and good cinematography. In addition, the good artistic delivery and the political message will appeal to the folks at the Venice International Film Festival (it is the representative work for Hong Kong). As to why it's called Prince of Tears, it is actually a reference to a children's book of the same title, which was used by revolutionaries to describe the society's inequity, and the helplessness of a prince....
Yonfan, as usual, has given us a beautiful and deeply meaningful movie that many will remember for many years. I walked out rather impacted, and motivated to seek for historical accounts of Singapore's own tumultuous 50s. Now, if only a local director would challenge the OB markers...
"眼泪，只是故事的開端"，而 "故事，就是已经故去的事……俱往矣。"
3,000 people were sentenced to death
8,000 people were imprisoned
Collective sentence of 10,000 years in prison
8,000 people were imprisoned
Collective sentence of 10,000 years in prison
An airforce pilot Han Sheng from a typical military settlement Qing Quan Village One 清泉一村 was living a comfortable life many people admire. But he was arrested one fine day on charges for flying into communist China's territorial airspace. His best friend Xiao Ding could have testified and acquitted him, but betrayed him to covet Han Sheng's wife Wan Ping. As if Yonfan was afraid the movie was too one-dimensional, a portion of the film zeroed on Wan Ping's platonic relationship with her childhood friend Ouyang Qian Jun. The characters were intertwined in their struggle for love, idealogy, and sanity during the turbulent period. The biggest losers in the game were the children Xiao Zhou and Xiao Li, who lost their dad and suffered great emotional stress.
The sombre story was contrasted by lush scenery, beautiful costumes, elaborate music score, and good cinematography. In addition, the good artistic delivery and the political message will appeal to the folks at the Venice International Film Festival (it is the representative work for Hong Kong). As to why it's called Prince of Tears, it is actually a reference to a children's book of the same title, which was used by revolutionaries to describe the society's inequity, and the helplessness of a prince....
曾经，你我的心中都住着一个”泪王子”，
这个王子看不惯社会的不公不义，所以他不断地流泪。
等到泪流尽了，泪王子就从你我心中，悄悄地飘然远去……
这个王子看不惯社会的不公不义，所以他不断地流泪。
等到泪流尽了，泪王子就从你我心中，悄悄地飘然远去……
Yonfan, as usual, has given us a beautiful and deeply meaningful movie that many will remember for many years. I walked out rather impacted, and motivated to seek for historical accounts of Singapore's own tumultuous 50s. Now, if only a local director would challenge the OB markers...
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