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Breeze of July

Starring: Monie Tung Man-lei, Sammy Leung Chi-kin, Koo Kam-wah

Director: Stanley Tam Kwok-ming

Category: I (Cantonese and Putonghua)

A mother-daughter relationship forms the nuanced backdrop of this heartfelt local production.

The directorial debut of indie-film editor Stanley Tam Kwok-ming displays the strengths and weaknesses of a freshman feature, as it tackles a subject matter that is intimate and cerebral but virtually devoid of ostensible 'commercial' gimmicks. The good intentions, though, are mitigated by historical incongruities in the narrative.

Tam's script, from a story by Chan Wai, is a character sketch of Lan-xin (Monie Tung), a restless young woman who frequently changes locales in a vain effort to escape her inner turmoil. It is the death of her Shanghainese mother, who never quite felt at home in Hong Kong, that brings Lan-xin back to the city after a lengthy stay in Canada.

Her encounters with two people from her past, former classmate and neighbour Big Head (Sammy Leung) and mum's best friend Auntie Lan (veteran actress Koo Kam-wah, who delivers the film's most natural performance), serve as a catalyst for Lan-xin to come to an understanding of just why she is always running away.

Despite this strong basic framework, the production is only partially successful in exploring Lan-xin's psyche. Her narration fills in some of the gaps, but the movie's long pauses and weighty symbolism detract from a viewer's ability to bond with the protagonists. The director is adept, however, at transmitting the unspoken bond between Lan-xin and Big Head, lifelong friends who are attracted to each other. And it is a rare serious role for Leung, who could have benefited from more direction to handle his character's implicitness. There is a bit more action in the Lan-xin-Auntie Lan plot strand when the two journey to Shanghai. It is the former's first visit to the metropolis, and the latter's first return to her birthplace in 40 years. The 'homecoming' provides the younger traveller with a deeper sense of her mother and, indirectly, an understanding of herself. Unfortunately, the flashbacks purporting to be the 1960s are confusing, as this was a time when travel between the two cities was difficult.

The movie would have been richer had the script incorporated the realities Auntie Lan and her friends would surely have faced within the context of that era's political unrest.

Nonetheless, the picture does convey its underlying message that 'the only thing that matters is to know the way home'.

Breeze of July opens tomorrow

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