Amanda FooEchoes Of The Rainbow, set in 1960s Hong Kong, is an autobiographical film from director Alex Law and a tribute to his older brother who died in his teens of cancer.
This movie follows Big Ears (played brilliantly by 8-year-old newcomer Buzz Chung) whose life goals consist of being an astronaut and eating a whole box of double-yolk mooncakes, a Chinese pastry traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. His older brother, Desmond Law (an earnest Aarif Lee), is the golden boy who excels academically and athletically until well, this film is a tribute to him, so you can guess what happens.
Big Ear’s parents are played by Sandra Ng and Simon Yam (who picked up a Best Actor award for his role at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards), who are both quietly superb. Mr Law is a cobbler at one end of street while his brother is a barber at the other. Mrs Law can outtalk anyone, a useful skill considering it helps her secure movie seats for 13 when she buys only 5 tickets.
It’s mainly through the parents that this movie really gets you. There’s a scene where Mr Law is handing over money in the hospital with this deep gap on his ring finger in the shape of his wedding band and it hits you where he got the money.
Or another when Mrs Law is painting a shop sign and she mutters, in a broken voice, “You must have belief”, to herself in reference to her eldest son. Sandra Ng is entirely believable as a hardworking mother here even though she has more known for comedic roles.
Scenes like these, showing the silent heartbreak and sacrifice from both parents when they realize that their elder son is dying that this film captures you and refuses to let you go.
That is, until the clichés start to appear and suddenly the award-winning movie’s grip slackens. There is talk of double rainbows and at the end of the movie, you guessed it, there it is. Or the slow-motion montage of Desmond Law dying and you just know that blood is going to spill onto the roses that he just dropped and voila!
It’s moments like these (in which the movie is as predictable as a Backstreet Boys song) that you falter in your love for the movie because you’d think that the director would have handled a subject so close to his heart with more finesse.
The movie does do a great job of showing us what Hong Kong in 1969 was like, but that translates to box office success only in that city, because Echoes Of The Rainbow loses that emotional advantage when it makes the leap across the oceans.
There was complaint that the movie ignored the political issues of that time, but it’s forgiven because you find yourself praising it for its focus on family, it’s enough to make you tear up, though not enough to make you cry.
Want to know exactly why Simon Yam picked up that Best Actor award? Head over to CTV‘s Movie Mania to find out more!
Title: Echoes Of The Rainbow
Opens: May 27
Duration: 110 minutes
Language: Chinese
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Genre: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Director: Alex Law
Cast: Simon Yam, Sandra Ng, Aarif Lee