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The Home Song Stories (2007)

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clip ‘The face that killed your mother’ education content clip 2

Original classification rating: M. This clip chosen to be M

Clip description

Rose (Joan Chen), Joe (Qi Yuwu) and the two children go to a Chinese martial arts movie, where Joe and May (Irene Chen) throw popcorn at each other. Rose is angry afterwards and accuses May of dressing ‘like a slut’. Back at home, Joe and Rose argue and he storms out. Rose then turns on her daughter, as Tom (Joel Lok) watches.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

This is the first time we have really seen how bad Rose’s temper can be – and it’s pretty scary. May has been a child until now, and although Tony Ayres gives us an indication that Joe is falling for her, there is no evidence of any physical contact. The sequence is partly crafted around the boy’s wordless observation of every detail. Joel Lok’s performance is remarkably good at suggesting that he understands a great deal, but not everything, that’s going on around him. That small gap between what he saw and what he understood is what the movie is all about, in one sense. It’s the puzzle the older Tom, as an adult writer, can’t stop trying to solve in his mind.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

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  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

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