Archive for June, 2006
My Son
In my reviews of Shaw Brothers melodramas, I frequently critique them for their formulaic predictability—a heroine (tragic, of course) finds herself in a situation beyond her control and sacrifices herself for the good of others. Imagine my surprise to find that in 1970, when these wenyi melodramas were being phased out of Shaw studios, screenwriter, poet and director Lo Chen turned out a unique melodrama featuring an unlikely star, Jimmy Wang Yu.
Reminiscent of “social-problem” films like Summer Heat, My Son is the nasty, pessimistic tragedy of Yang Kuo Liang (Wang Yu) and his girlfriend Mui Lin (Margaret Hsing Hui). Angry and rich, Yang argues with his father (Tien Feng) and fights anyone who pisses him off, which is everyone. But when he’s with Mui Lin, Yang’s angry demeanor subsides. He takes her boating, pays for her sister’s medical care and promises to keep her from harm.
Sadly, Yang’s promises last as long as his patience and the couple’s situation declines in a series of painful tragedies, almost all of which are instigated by Yang’s pig-headed anger, fear of responsibility and shirking of responsibility.
Having a film’s star be both unlikable and at fault for the pain of others was a rare step for Shaw. The stars of their other melodramas were praised, and the tragedies that befell them were either unavoidable, or instigated for the good of others.
Yang is a unique anti-hero in Shaw melodramas, and that’s not the kind of role I’d expect Jimmy Wang Yu to play. And as much as I’d like to say that My Son gave Wang the stereotype-busting kind role that allows him to exhibit his real skills, that’s simply untrue—Wang simply wasn’t that good; My Son shows why he was better suited to roles that required less complicated acting.
Wang’s acting is not the film’s only stumbling block; an exploitative scene or two combined with a stupefying Wu Ma as a “hippy” throw the film off its game. However, the hippy’s “crazy freak out” party does lead to the film’s best quote, “We are the mystifying generation!”
Fumbles aside, the film is far better than other contemporary melodramas. After Shaw Brothers had wrung the life out of the wenyi genre, it’s nice to see an attempt, even an uneven one, to resuscitate the genre.
My Son
Dir: Lo Chen
Released: June 25, 1970