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Archive - 7th Five Flavours Film Festival

Night and Fog

Tin shui wai dik ye yu mo
Hong Kong 2009, 122’
subtitles: Polish and English
director: Ann Hui
screenplay: Cheung King-wai, Alex Law
cinematography: Charlie Lam
editing: Kwong Chi-leung
music: Chan Si-lok
cast: Simon Yam, Jingchu Zhang, Amy Chum
language: Mandarin, Cantonese
colouration: colour

Film description

"Night and Fog" opens with a scene following a bloody crime. A man killed his wife and children, and then commited suicide. What pushed him to such desperate deed? To answer that question, Ann Hui goes back in time and recreates the every-day reality of the murdered family. The seemingly idyllic picture has many cracks – home abuse, the wife’s struggle for survival, the terrorizing husband, the tragedy of lonelyness in a strange country. Through the perspective of an individual tragedy, the film comments on the issue of inequality in relationships, and the lack of social support.

Hui named her film after Alain Resnais' 1955 documentary, thus enriching the plot with a more profound reflection on human nature and its dark corners. "At the end, I’m not even sure why the husband decided to kill his wife. It’s unexplainable, just like the Nazi brutalities" – the director said in one of the interviews. "Irrational violence is deeply entrenched at the bottom of human nature. There are aspects of humanity that are simply there, but remain immune to rationalisation."

Urszula Lipińska

Ann Hui

Born in 1947, in Manchuria, China. Graduate of the University of Hong Kong and London Film School. Director, screenwriter, actress. One of the leading filmmakers of the Hong Kong New Wave. Praised for works taking up controversial social issues, such as her Vietnam Trilogy.

Selected filmography:

1982 Tau ban no hoi / Boat People
1990 Ke tu qui hen / Song of the Exile
1995 Nu ren si shi / Summer Show
1999 Qian yan wan yu / Ordinary Heroes
2003 Yu guanyin / Jade Goddess of Mercy
2011 Proste życie / Tao jie / A Simple Life

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