The Home Song Stories (2007)

Director:

Tony Ayres

Writer:

Tony Ayres (written by)

Release Date:

23 August 2007 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

How far do you have to journey to find your home?

Plot:

A man remembers his childhood and his mother, a Chinese night club singer who struggled to survive in Australia with her two children.

Plot Keywords:

Australia | Childhood | Sailor | Illegal Immigrant | Unrequited Love

Awards:

21 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Joan Chen	...	Rose Hong / Hong Meigui
Yuwu Qi	...	Joe
Joel Lok	...	Tom
Irene Chen	...	May
Steven Vidler	...	Bill
Kerry Walker	...	Norma
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gabrielle Chan	...	Winnie
Ferdinand Hoang	...	Bing Guo
Ivy Mak	...	Kim
Pearl Tan	...	Agnes
Haven Tso	...	Wing
Annette Shun Wah	...	Adult May

Also Known As:

Yi (Singapore: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

Germany:103 min (Berlin International Film Festival)

Country:

Australia | Singapore

Language:

English | Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Canada:14A | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Big & Little Films Pty. Ltd.

Trivia:

Australia's official submission in the Foreign Language Film category for the 80th Academy Awards (2008).

Movie Connections:

Features "The Partridge Family" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Long, Long Way to Pasadena

From bad to worse

A terribly sad story told through the memories of the youngest child of a mother and her two children who migrates from Hong Kong where she was somewhat of a cabaret singer, to Melbourne where she really does not find a favourable Fung Sui. I went to see the movie, perhaps with too much expectation. But one expectation I did not have is the down to earth handling of the production. I felt it was not a movie anymore but a tragic event unfolding before my eyes in ordinary Melbourne low key suburb. Lot of things go wrong, and I found myself waiting for a little ray of sunshine, may be you will too. The acting is excellent and the pain is real. The cinematography is just as real, no fancy shot, no "make up" on the images, just the same as you get someone out of bed, nature too was in the raw. I had to accept all this was done in purpose to get a more positive feeling about this film. knowing a fair bit about some aspect of Asian way of life from personal experience, I had a lot of empathy with the characters and their resentment of the an old cow.