Asian Films

I spent a few good hours watching "The Home Song Stories" and "The Drummer" here in Singapore. Try to catch them if you have the chance.

The Home Song Stories

Synopsis from http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=2115689&mp=syn

A combination of circumstance and poor life choices turn to young children into the caretakers for their unstable mother in writer/director Tony Ayres' semi-autobiographical family drama. As aging writer Tom (Darren Yap) sits down to pen a screenplay detailing his life story, memories quickly transport him to the Shanghai nightclub where his single mother Rose (Joan Chen) would captivate Western servicemen. A beautiful thrush with a magnificent voice, Rose eventually packed up children Tom (Joel Lok) and May (Irene Chen) and set off for Australia after accepting a marriage proposal from Melbourne sailor Bill (Steven Vidler). When the relationship between Rose and Bill withered after just one week, the mother set her sights on Sydney.

In the following seven years, Rose and her two young children would bounce between a series of "uncles" as stability continued to elude the trio. Though desperate Rose would eventually return to Melbourne with her children and attempt to rekindle her relationship with Bill, that too would eventually result in failure when the impulsive woman entered into a heated affair with local restaurant employee Joe (Qi Yuwu). Enraged when younger lover Joe takes note of May's blossoming beauty, Rose once again begs Bill's forgiveness though his generosity finally seems to have been exhausted. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Drummer

Synopsis from http://movies.ohgenki.com/2007/movies/786/the_drummer.html

The Drummer is an original and stylistic cinematic feast of sight and sound. It is the first feature film to combine an engaging character-driven story with dramatic action and the stunning art of Chinese zen drumming.

The compelling and emotional story follows Sid, a reckless youth raised in a Hong Kong triad family, who flees to Taiwan upon enraging a mob boss. Hiding out in the mountains of Taiwan, he encounters and joins a group of zen drummers whose mesmerizing art, rigorous physical training, and austere way of life eventually transform him into an extraordinary young man.

Sid's independence from the triad life is profoundly challenged, however, when a twist of fate awaits him back home in Hong Kong and forces him to choose between loyalty to his family and his new found faith in himself. . .