Hong Kong New Wave director Patrick Tam finally returns with his new film After This Our Exile starring Aaron Kwok & Charlie Young. The film topped all other competitors at the Golden Horse Film Festival to win the Best Feature Film award. Following up his win with Divergence last year, Aaron Kwok was crowned the Best Leading Actor for the second consecutive year for his role in this film. Nine-year-old Ian Iskandar Gouw, who plays Aaron Kwoks son in the film, won the Best Supporting Actor award, becoming the youngest Golden Horse winner ever.
Aaron Kwok plays gambler Sheng, while Charlie Young portrays his wife who can no longer tolerate his violence & leaves the family. Sheng then forces his son (Ian Iskandar Gouw) to commit petty theft to simply survive. The child ends up in a juvenile detention center & does not meet his father again until 10 years later, when his innocent emotional attachment to his father has already been replaced by a more complex feeling mixing affection, disappointment, & despair. Director Patrick Tam aptly captures the nuances in a changing family in which the father tragically does not know that his shortcomings will eventually destroy the family. The carefully designed cinematography & classical music give the film a strong artistic flavor, probably explaining the films popularity at international film festivals.
Tam first made his name with his daring 1982 work Nomad (starring Leslie Cheung, Cecilia Ip, Pat Ha, Ken Tong), but stopped directing after My Heart is That Eternal Rose in 1989. He has been involved in many notable films & did the film editing for Wong Kar Wais Days of Being Wild & Ashes of Time. His recent project as the editor for Johnnie Tos Election was seen as preparation for his return to the directors chair.
Note: This is the 120-minute Hong Kong theatrical edition.