As its poster shows, the stars of Septet are its directors!
Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (Hong Kong-Mainland China, 2020)
- Part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival's Galas program
- Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Wo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, directors
- Starring: Timmy Hung, Francis Ng, Jennifer Yu, Gouw Ian Iskandar, Yuen Wah,
Ashley Lam, Simon Yam, Mimi Kung, Cheung Tat Ming, Emotion Cheung, etc.
This omnibus offering from seven of Hong Kong's most celebrated directors was the film I most wanted to see at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival. So imagine my disappointment when I initially was unable to get a ticket for it; and then my joy when I was able to get my hands on one after the relaxation of social distancing measures allowed more tickets to go on sale.
Originally conceived by Johnnie To as an octet of short films, it became Septet after John Woo had to bow out of the project (because of his wife's ill health). One can't help wonder what the "heroic bloodshed" specialist's contribution would have been like. But, as it stands, this anthology already has its share of surprises along with quality contributions.
Septet begins with Sammo Hung's contribution. "Exercise" has his son, Timmy Hung, playing his old Cantonese opera school master, Yu Jim-yuen (who Sammo Hung had himself essayed decades ago in Painted Faces). It's an old, familiar tale that can seem somewhat dated and conservative. At the same time though, there's no doubting its maker's sincerity, and there's something truly admirable about it and what amounts to the setting out of his personal ethos along with story on screen for people to see.
Like Hung's contribution, Ann Hui's also has an educational theme -- but what a world of difference the school and teacher(s) in her nostalgic "Headmaster" are from that of "Exercise". Set a decade later than the earlier short film, "Headmaster" features educators -- not just the titular headmaster (essayed by Francis Ng) but also a similarly dedicated younger teacher (played by Sire Ma) -- in a more Western style school who see and treat their charges as fellow humans as well as their students. And it's really touching to see the care they accorded the youth be returned in kind, and much respect too.
Skipping a decade to the 1980s (presumably because John Woo had been assigned the 1970s to cover), we then have Patrick Tam's contribution. "Tender is the Night" is a tale of first love interrupted by the female of the pair (played by Distinction's Jennifer Yu) being due to emigrate with her parents -- a reminder that this current era is by no means the first which has seen many Hong Kongers decide to leave their homeland in search of a better, safer life elsewhere. Sadly though, despite its topicality, this story didn't really work for me. Perhaps because it was a two-hander almost entirely filmed in just one locale, it came across as overly theatrical (and consequently artificial); kind of ironic when, like the rest of Septet, it's the rare contemporary movie shot on 35mm film (rather than the now more usual digital format).
In contrast, Yuen Wo-ping's "Homecoming" is my favorite by far of Septet's segments. Set predominantly in 1997 and also featuring a schoolgirl about to leave Hong Kong, the key relationship in this charming offering though involves that between a granddaughter (played by Ashley Lam, who also sang the sentimental song that plays as the end credits roll) and kung fu practicing grandfather (who comes in the form of Yuen Wah). She may be a lover of McDonald's burgers and he of traditional Hong Kong food but there is no doubting their affection for each other, which leads to an admirable willingness to accept each other's ways, and even learn a thing or two from the other.
Like "Homecoming", Johnny To's directorial contribution also begins in the 1990s but it then moves forward into the 21st century. "Bonanza"'s central characters are a trio of friends seemingly perennially on the lookout to make a quick fortune: be it via the purchasing of convention stocks, shares in new internet companies or apartments in a housing estate forever associated with SARS in the eyes of Hong Kongers. In some ways, they could be said to represent how many people see Hong Kongers: as obsessed with trying to make money. At the same time though, their living through multiple boom and bust periods may be what people living in Hong Kong identify more with.
The next to last segment of Septet is by the late Ringo Lam. "Astray" tells the story of a man (played by Simon Yam) who's lived abroad but clearly loves Hong Kong. Happy to spend his days in his ancestral village in the New Territories, he is liable to get lost when he goes to the city -- one so radically transformed by land reclamation as well as the tearing down of old landmarks. An unabashed tribute to Hong Kong made even more poignant by it having been the director's final cinematic work, its final lines caused me to choke and tear up -- as surely will be the case with everyone who loves/loved Hong Kong as we do.
It's probably a good thing then that Tsui Hark's contribution to this omnibus proceeded to considerably lighten the mood. The zany "Conversation in Depth" is set in a mental institution (and, it seems, in the future). A mental patient (played by Cheung Tat-ming) is being interviewed by a doctor (played by Emotion Cheung). Much mirth ensues when the former first insists that he's Ann Hui, then Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, and the latter insists on pointing out that Ann Hui and Maggie Cheung are women while the patient is patently not.
In another room watching the two are two other men (played by Lam Suet and Lawrence Lau). Suffice to say for now that as the camera pans to show them and, then later, still more other onlookers onto the scene, the audience around me broke out into waves of laughter. Actually, here's additionally throwing out a caveat that this whimsical final section of Septet really would be most appreciated -- and more likely to be understood? -- by those who are (long time) fans of Hong Kong cinema! :b
My rating for this film: 7.5 + 9 + 6 + 10 + 7 + 8.5 + 8 = an averaged out 8.0!
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