Night and Fog (Tin shui wai dik ye yu mo) 2009

The film is based on an actual 2004 Tin Shui Wai murder-suicide involving a mainland immigrant, her Hong Kong husband, and their two children. Lee Sum (Simon Yam) and his wife and daughters live in a highrise Tin Shui Wai housing estate. Sum lives off his pension, while his wife Ling works to make her own living. Sum isn’t happy about that andhe's also not happy that Ling is willful. His physical affection for his wife frequently blurs the line between passionate and abusive.

After one particularly harrowing exchange, Ling flees Sum for the safety of a woman’s shelter, where she strikes up minor friendships and engages in some personal healing. However, even after stints in the shelter and back in China with her family, a resolution is not forthcoming for the couple. Ling does meet with Sum once more in order to settle their affairs, but the end for this family is not a happy one. Meanwhile, flashbacks to the couple's past reveal the genesis of the tragedy, as well as Lee Sum's pronounced and unsurprising capacity for darkness.

Director: Ana Hui On-Wah

Stars: Simon Yam Tat-Wah, Zhang Jingchu

JDramaMama's Rating: D

This film was very hard to watch. It shows the horrors of domestic vioilence and how obstensibly children are caught up in the violent vortex of a parent. Simon Yam plays this part well, too well. He is a disgusting, controlling monster and I had a gut feeling things were not going to turn out well for the wife but nothing prepared me for the shocking ending. I was horrified and appalled and wondered why I wasted my time watching a film that left such a bad taste in my mouth. The film opens after the tragic event, with the many details of the family only gleamed through staged interview segments and key flashbacks featuring the supporting characters. The supporting performances really shine here, adding depth and even suspense to the story. I can't say I'd recommend this film because of the extreme abuse in it and the last scene is particulalry disturbing. There may be people out there that think this film isn't disturbing. I am not one of them.

#HongKong #crime #fear #violence #family