imutsusemi
Mother separates from father. Father loses job. Son couldn't afford school. Father tells son to steal. He does. Son gets caught. He cries. Son has a mad with father. Father remarries. Son grow up like everyone else.Nothing out of the ordinary. No touching moments except when the actors are trying really hard to genuinely show some emotion, signaling to the audience that they should feel the same. Film direction is all over the place, literally (see the final scene when, Boy, all grown up, spots his dad across the river). It's like the Vaseline covered hands of a cameraman repeatedly drops the camera and successfully snatching it mid air, repeat that 10 times. Mediocre acting is apparent except when Aaron Kwok and Charlie Yeung overtly tries to sneak in some Indonesian/Malaysian lingo with conversational Cantonese. Even the swearing was unbelievably abysmal. How can you screw up saying "Pook Guy" in Cantonese? The title of this movie is "Father & Son" in Chinese. It somehow translates to "After This Our Exile" when it translates to English. Let's take a moment to make sense of that.Don't waste your valuable time on this movie and reading extremely inaccurate reviews about this movie. Life is short. The only way to make your life long is to live it with regret forever by watching this movie. The only reason I gave this 1 instead of 2 is that the actor who played Boy did an OK job. Good job mate.
dbborroughs
I watched the complete restored directors cut which runs two hours and forty minutes some forty minutes longer than the theatrical cut. I had picked the film up because the description on the DVD case promised one thing, however how it delivered that story was not what I expected. (I also picked it up because I love the English title)As the film opens boy is being sent off to school by his mother. She is being especially nice to him and he suspects something is wrong. sneaking off the bus he returns home to find his mother packing up her things preparing to leave him and his father. He runs off to tell his dad, who returns home in time to stop her from leaving. He manages to talk her into staying, but it isn't for long as his mother eventually leaves leaving him and his father alone to take on the world, and the money men he owes money to from his out of control gambling.Heartbreaking tale of two souls adrift in life's storms is compelling viewing. The performances by everyone involved especially Aaron Kwok as the father are very real and emotional. Its painful at times looking into the lives of these people. They are not good or bad, they are just people which is readily apparent when Kwok, his wife having just left him, breaks down on the couch grasping desperately at his son pleading with him not to leave him too.its a heavy moment. Actually the movie is full of heavy moments, many of them that rung true with me having lived through similar ones with parents and friends.The film is technically a marvel with a look that is stunning, as is the use of the widescreen. Even better is the use of music both in its original score and its use of songs from elsewhere. Patrick Tam who directed is also listed as music designer, a title I've never heard of before but which is aptly put in the present case. If the film has a flaw its that in this cut its a bit too long. As I said earlier this is forty minutes longer than the theatrical version which must move at a better clip. However I would be remiss in not saying I really couldn't tell you what I would cut to speed the film up, or if I did have an idea I certainly wouldn't know where to cut forty minutes.On a more personal note I was slightly disappointed in the very end of the movie.There is something about it that left me unsatisfied. I suspect because it doesn't provide an end rather a stop. its a minor thing that I can't explain, but its what prevented me from completely falling head over heels with the film, something I felt sure I was going to do. Don't get me wrong this is a really good movie, its just the last second of film just made me go "wha?". Frankly I'm going to have to watch the final portion of the film to see if it makes a difference on a second viewing.
thomasaaa123
Like some others who have reviewed the movie, I am puzzled as to why this movie managed to win the awards it did -- except for the best supporting actor award going to the kid playing the "Boy" in the movie. He totally carried the movie -- he's really a major reason why I could sit through the 160 mins of the director's cut version of the movie.Don't get me wrong. The movie isn't bad, but just that it's really not that good. A few pleasant surprises, besides the fabulous performance by the kid. Despite that his character is essentially a clichéd stereotype, Kwok turned out to be a much better actor than he is a singer. Also, several scenes are funny and the director's humor showed.But the movie severely suffers from empty script and indulgent direction. The movie's character and plot developments are too light to substantiate the 3-hour duration (or, I believe, even the 2.5-hour duration of the theatre's cut). And the movie drags on and on. Sometimes it's as if the director isn't confident that the messages he intends for the audience would get through, and so he keeps re-sending them, and sometimes in an overly melodramatic way.Another thing worth mentioning is the director (Tam) seems heavily influenced by Kar-Wai Wong. It's especially evident in the setup where the father gets into an affair with his neighbor in the hotel (reminiscent of "In the Mood for Love" and "2046"). But the movie would have benefited much if Tam's direction were crisper, subtler and more assured.
Lee Alon
In a surprising twist of linguistics, the English name for Patrick Tam's latest carries a much deeper sense of atmosphere and tragedy than the simple Chinese title, translated more or less as "father". Well, a formal expression of the concept "father", but quite obvious either way.And if one thing it isn't, that's obvious, for Exile serves as an adept reminder that even the most straightforward of stories may require multiple runs to fully appreciate.Tam did items like Love Massacre in the past, and hasn't been much of a prolific artist in almost twenty years. This new release, rumored and talked about for over two , gives the director a respectable shot at a comeback, even though it probably isn't what he was going for, nor is it, frankly, the most astounding, earth-shattering drama to ever grace the silver screen.But it is a sensible, intriguing affair, with quite excellent cinematography, a goodie bag's worth of various ingredients and an at least seldom-visited location setting.Exile further depicts lean pop star Aaron Kwok in a superb melodramatic turn which has one regularly thinking to themselves, "now that's acting". Just for that kind of pondering about him, Exile surely has merit.It further puts forth Charlie Yeung (Seven Swords, New Police Story) as Kwok's troubled life partner, with the couple, A Sheng and Lin, entering the stage as two Cantonese speakers (presumably from HK although that much is never revealed) in Malaysia. Kwok's character works as a cook in a restaurant, while Yeung depicts a homemaker, taking care of son Boy (Gouw Ian Iskandar). Something's amiss from the get go as Lin tries to get away from an abusive, yet strangely loving, relationship with her significant other, all superimposed over landscapes Tam and crew make clear are quite homey and comfortable.For a minute there Exile veers close to the wave of cinematic psychedelia that came out of East Asia (and mainland China in particular) over the late 90's and early 2000's, with a flickering mood of non-place and slow, thoughtful unfolding of events to challenge those who didn't get enough sleep the night before.However, this makes room for a more realistic mindset quite early. Lin indeed makes her escape, leaving Sheng and Boy to fend for themselves as we slowly witness them deteriorate further toward destitution in a pretty but cruel realm where, despite being surrounded by others, they are inevitably alone. Kwok does his job with flying colors, convincing us throughout that he's this lonely, well-meaning character that's so tragic for simply being completely unfit for the world in which we live. No matter what the guy does he can't get a break, from his crumbling family to bad debts that won't go away.Everyone else doesn't seriously measure up to Aaron, with Yeung doing her best but ultimately failing to impress. She's OK, yet we like her a lot better in urban, rather than urbane, roles. Some supporting love comes via Qin Hailu (Durian Durian and the masterful Chicken Poets) as Lin's KTV lounge friend and boss. What ruins her appearance in Exile is the horrible Cantonese dub they slapped over her Putonghua lines, hence a reduction to a stand-in sideshow.Our beloved Kelly Lin has returned at long last from her own mini exile, looking so different and mature we barely recognized the graceful lady. Sadly none of the bubbly Martial Angels stuff from back in the day here. She plays a prostitute granting Sheng temporary relief and haunting memories at the same time. And although appropriately emotional and chilling while engaged with him, Kelly's persona also ends up in a dead end much like most everyone in the film, leaving Aaron to carry it all himself.Even the kid, Boy (Iskandar) doesn't pack too much punch despite showing promise. We wish him every success in the future, but feel there was more that could have been done with his role. As it stands, you feel for him in the few occasions where he starts to (quite genuinely) cry, yet not a lot beyond.Exile, overall, can be touching at times and certainly there's those that'll find it very moving. It doesn't overwhelm with sheer sentiment, though, leaving its assets clear: firstly, there's Aaron in a prize appearance. Then, the mesmerizing Malaysian landscapes. Finally, that English title just compels one to reflect on what it all means. Taken in that context, After This Our Exile thrusts itself forward, defying a seemingly almost banal story and non-descript characters. Additionally, Tam makes sure to incorporate saucy adult elements like love scenes (not overdone) and language. In fact, more F-bombs here than in any other HK film we can recall recently.This humanity is definitely a driving force, but not enough for grand success. Ergo, after all this isn't our latest classic, but it sure should be on your winter viewing list.
