Genre: Horror, Suspense
Starring: Karena Lam, Shu Qi
Release year: 2005
Language: Chinese - Cantonese
Subtitle: English
SYNOPSIS:
May, a young mother who moves into a new apartment complex with her family. But no sooner have they settled in than May's young son goes missing. It transpires that he has in fact been kidnapped by a hideously deformed woman (played by Hong Kong beauty Karena Lam, from Koma, in a mountain of grotesque make-up) who believes him to be her long lost son. May is forced into the ducts and vents of her apartment building to track down her boy, and confront this other terrifying, yet equally bereaved, mother
RATING: 8/10
USER RATING:
REVIEW:
" The revelation: that Yan Hong had a sad, pathetic life that knew plenty of misfortune. It also knew plenty of bad parenting, as some of what occurs to Yan Hong isn't the fault of anyone but herself. Karena Lam is photogenic in the flashbacks and grotesque in the present day, and she does a decent job selling the character in either physical state. What she doesn't do is prove to us that Yan Hong is necessarily worth sympathizing with. Sure, her lot in life was crappy, and her emotionally-devastated stares are heartbreaking. But ultimately, what's revealed about Yan Hong isn't enough to make her that sympathetic - especially when you factor in her acts of violence and kidnapping.
In contrast, Shu Qi's May is totally sympathetic, as she's an out-and-out victim whose major fault is that she doesn't seem to own any pants. In a minor, though ridiculous detail, May always wears skirts - even when crawling through ventilation ducts, or when preparing to meet Yan Hong mano-a-mano. Still, despite May's lack of a functional wardrobe, the audience should definitely be on her side, and her plight takes on a noticeable intensity thanks to that. Throughout the entire film, May must fight alone, as the cops, her neighbors, and the nonexistent management of the housing estate pretty much write her off as paranoid and delusional. Of course, given the fact that her kid did disappear in a frighteningly odd way, you'd think that someone would show a little more concern for her. The neighbors and housing management seem to not care that a child abduction has occurred in their supposed safe community. While May's solitary struggle may be compelling, it's also somewhat unbelievable.
Director Soi Cheang does create some genuine pathos, and his characters and their situations can be remarkably felt. The resulting film comes off as intense and compelling - if you can forgive the film's lack of credibility. Aside from the mystifyingly crappy neighbors, the cops are laughably ineffective, and seem to exist only to act skeptical or get in May's way. Home Sweet Home does possess a compelling and gripping pace, but once the plot holes become apparent, the film starts to seem overdone, and even borderline inane. Karena Lam and Shu Qi's gutsy performances come off as overacting, and the nakedly horrified performance of child actor Tam Chun-Ho starts to look wild-eyed and over-the-top. It would have been better if Home Sweet Home had been tighter and more confined, but the sheer expanse of the setting makes the plot holes hard to cover.
Home Sweet Home does possess a few emotional hooks that manage to leave an impression. At some point, the line between the two mothers blurs, and the resulting moments pack a solid emotional punch. It's those one or two moments that make Home Sweet Home at least partially worthwhile. Soi Cheang works overtime to get the audience to care, and if he doesn't succeed in even the tiniest way then the viewer is likely a robotic human being that could never grasp the sheer desperation and frustration of a mother who's lost their child. The actresses certainly spill sufficient sweat, blood, and tears to sell the emotions, and their effort is appreciated. On emotion alone, Home Sweet Home is pretty good stuff. But as a complete motion picture, it's not so pretty. "
Source: Kozo - Lovehkfilms
PREVIEW:
- http://www.megaupload.com/?d=79CUM1D8
- http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T4ZDRRBL
- http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DU7RYG6R
SUB:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TY0DMFL5
NOTE:
[*] TO JOIN FILES END WITH .001 .002 .003 ... USE FILEFJ. DOWNLOAD HERE
[*] TO OPEN FILES END WITH .RAR, USE WINRAR DOWNLOAD HERE
[*] TO PLAY VARIOUS VIDEO FORMAT SUCH AS AVI, MP4, WMV... AND BE ABLE TO WATCH IT WITH SUBTITLE, INSTAL K-LITE CODEC PACK DOWNLOAD HERE
[*] TO PLAY FILES END WITH RMVB, RM, INSTALL REAL MEDIA PLAYER OR REAL ALTERNATIVE DOWNLOAD HERE
[*] MORE USEFUL INFOMATION AT FAQ/SUPPORT
If you enjoy this movie, leave some comments. Your comments are valuable to me and keep me doing my job well.
CLICKING ADS IS ONE OF THE WAYS TO KEEP THIS WEBSITE ALIVE!
1 CLICK/PERSON/DAY. SMALL ACT, GREAT ATTITUDE.
NEWER MOVIES
