Fridae

Gay Asian-Australian filmmaker, Tony Ayres, has made history by helming the first ever Singapore-Australia film collaboration, bankrolled by the Singapore's Raintree Pictures. Although it is not a gay film � unlike his 2002 gay drama Walking On Water � it is still a beautiful and poignant drama that deserves to be seen.

The Home Song Stories is based on Tony's childhood experiences in the 1960s when his mother uprooted him and his sister from Hong Kong and moved the family to Melbourne to start a new life. Told from the perspective of a young Tony, the film chronicles the fate of the family members as the attractive single mother constantly changes homes and lovers.

The still-ravishing Joan Chen plays a glamorous and unstable mother who first brings her children to Australia to be with her white sailor-lover (Steven Vidler) but walks out on him just 7 days later. As she hops from one Chinese "uncle" to another, the two children (Joel Lok and Irene Chen) can only stand by and watch in dismay. The mother finally falls for a much-younger cook (Singapore-based actor Qi Yuwu) who instead takes an interest in the daughter. More chaos ensues.

The Home Song Stories unfolds gracefully, allowing us the pleasure of soaking in the sights, sounds and emotions of the characters. Director Tony handles every scene oh-so-carefully, because his personal emotions are obviously invested in them. The cast delivers good performances. Joan, in particular, is wonderfully compelling as the emotionally-destructive woman, while Qi Yuwu shows surprising depth. Both child actors give assured turns.

We strongly urge you, our dear Fridae readers, to watch this film because:

1) You should support an openly-gay filmmaker making a film co-produced by Singapore;

2) You should support small honest dramas such as these, which are in serious danger of going extinct in the face of Hollywood big-budget behemoths;

3) You should support films that attempt to answer complex questions of what it means to be Asian, or specifically in this case, to be Chinese in a foreign country.

4) You should support a film that is simply good.