Song of the Exile

Song of the Exile
Song of the Exile
Directed by	Ann Hui
Written by	Nien-Jen Wu
Produced by	Nai Chung Chou; Deng Fei Lin
Starring	Maggie Cheung
Cinematography	Zhiwen Zhong
Edited by	Yee Shun Wong
Release dates	27 April, 1990
Running time	100 minutes
Countries	Template:FilmHong Kong; Template:FilmTaiwan
Languages	Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin, English

Song of the Exile (客途秋恨, [Ke tu qiu hen] Error: {{Transliteration}}: missing language / script code (help)) is a 1990 Hong Kong-Taiwanese film, a semi-fictionalised autobiography directed by Ann Hui. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

Plot

In 1973, 26-year-old Cheung Hueyin is abroad in London studying media. Receiving a letter from her mother, she returns to Hong Kong to attend her younger sister's wedding. The relationship between Hueyin and mother Aiko, who is Japanese, hadn't been stellar since childhood. From many flashbacks, we see it was Hueyin's paternal grandparents who did much of the early child-rearing, however, they would often overstep boundaries, resulting in family dysfunction.

Before the end of World War II and before eventually becoming Mrs. Cheung and Hueyin's mother, Aiko spent time living in Manchukuo. There, she and other Japanese faced serious dilemmas after Japan's defeat and the subsequent uncertainties of imprisonment and punishment. The most intense of these dilemmas came with the serious illness of Aiko's infant nephew. His illness was eventually cured by Mr. Cheung after a chance encounter and desperate roadside plea for help by Aiko. Mr. Cheung was an army translator from Guangdong, China with a background in traditional Chinese medicine. Aiko developed a sense of fondness for him upon seeing his actions and character. Aiko's brother concurred, mentioning that kindness toward children usually indicates a man of integrity. After Mr. Cheung escorted Aiko's family to the Japanese repatriation site, he revealed to Aiko a strong desire to be a romantic couple. The film focuses on Hueyin's journey of epiphany as she and Aiko visit Aiko's birthplace in Beppu, Japan, where many years of mother-daughter tension are finally reversed.