Fridae

When the nominees for Taiwan's Golden Horse awards were recently announced, this film surprised many with its bounty of seven nominations in key categories, including Best Film, Best Actor (Aaron Kwok), Best Original Screenplay (Patrick Tam) and Best Cinematography (Mark Lee).

A comeback film for director Patrick Tam (Nomad, The Sword), who has not made a film in 17 years, it is set in the Chinese community of Ipoh, Perak in Malaysia. Aaron Kwok plays a violent-tempered gambler whose fed-up wife (Charlie Young) has just left him and their young son (wonderfully played by Goum Ian Iskandar). To help his father pay off his gambling debts, the boy starts to steal. He is finally arrested and sent to a detention center...

Told through the eyes of the boy, After This Our Exile is a beautifully shot and edited film that shows formalistic rigor and technical flair. Though the film is way too long (149 minutes) for its own good, the strong performances from Goum and Aaron as well as the supporting cast (Charlie Young, Kelly Lin) are still impressive.

Definitely one of the best Chinese films we have seen this year.

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Veteran director Patrick Tam is best known for films like The Sword (1980) and Nomad (1982 with Leslie Cheung), and for editing Wong Kar Wai's Days of Being Wild. He left the industry 17 years ago to teach filmmaking, but has now made a comeback with the beautifully-titled After This Our Exile. And what a comeback it is! Nominated for seven Golden Horse awards, it won Best Film, Best Actor for Aaron Kwok and Best Supporting Actor for Goum Ian Iskandar.

After This Our Exile is a quiet and affecting film about a father and son relationship. Set in the Chinese community of Ipoh, Malaysia, Aaron Kwok plays a violent-tempered gambler whose fed-up wife (Charlie Young) ups and offs, leaving him to care for their young son (Goum Ian Iskandar). To help him pay off his gambling debts, Aaron teaches the boy to steal. But the young one is eventually caught and sent to a detention center, planting the seeds of bitterness between father and son.

Told through the eyes of the boy, After This Our Exile is a beautifully shot and edited film that shows formalistic rigor and technical flair. Though the film is way too long (149 minutes) for its own good, the strong performances from young Goum and the supporting cast (Charlie Young, Kelly Lin) are impressive. Aaron, on the other hand, despite winning Best Actor, struggles to give a nuanced performance.

Still, it is one of the best Chinese films we've seen this year, and certainly a welcome return for Patrick.