A STUDYGUIDE BY MARGUERITE O’HARA OFFICIAL SELECTION 2007 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL www.metromagazine.com.au www.theeducationshop.com.au ‘How far do you have to journey to find your home?’ The Home Song Stories is an epic tale of mothers and sons, mothers and daughters, unrequited love, betrayal and secrets. The story is based on Writer/Director Tony Ayres’ own life as a child with his glamorous mother – Rose. om (Darren Yap), a Chinese Australian Rose moves into a new place with a new Curriculum Relevance man in his early forties, writes about lover, Joe (Qi Yuwu), a Chinese cook who is This childhood. We see the story unfold several years younger than her. But Joe soon The Home Song Stories is suitable for senior as he does. feels the strain of being in a relationship with a secondary students of English, Cultural Stud- middle-aged woman with two children. In fact, ies, History, Social Studies, Studies of Society It is 1964. Tom’s mother, Rose Hong (Joan he finds that he has more in common with and Environment (particularly immigration is- Chen), a beautiful and glamorous Shanghai Rose’s daughter, May, than with Rose. They sues) and Film and Media Studies. It provides nightclub singer, meets Bill (Steven Vidler), form a friendship. But Rose misunderstands a rich resource for a study of biography and of an Australian sailor, and migrates to Victoria the meaning of this growing friendship and the complex and sometimes difficult aspects with her two children, Tom (Joel Lok) and all hell breaks loose as she accuses May of of family life. The film also offers insights into May (Irene Chen). However, their marriage is undermining her. the difficulties faced by migrants living in short-lived and Rose and her children move Australia in the 1970s. to Sydney, where she spends the next seven In the ensuing drama, mother and daughter years working in Chinese restaurants. reach the depths of despair. But eventually they find some common ground when Rose Advice to Teachers In 1971, Rose, May and Tom return to the out- tells May about the terrible tribulations which er suburbs of Melbourne to live with Bill. Rose In its exploration of family life, the film includes she (Rose) experienced as a young woman. and Bill are attempting to reconcile. Much some scenes of violence, mental instability For the first time, May understands where to her chagrin, Rose learns that Bill’s mother and suicide, which some students may find her mother’s wild and erratic behavior comes Norma (Kerry Walker) also lives in Bill’s house. distressing. There are also two low-level sex from. It is a moment of love and forgiveness. When Bill is called away by the Navy, a battle scenes. The film is rated M and runs for 103 ensues between the two women for control The adult Tom retells these stories of his minutes. Teachers are advised to watch the of the house, a battle that Norma eventually childhood and in doing so, comes to a better film before showing it to their students. wins, kicking Rose and her children out. understanding of his mother and himself. 2 The Home Song Stories Key cast and crew The Home Song Stories was written and directed by Tony Ayres. He describes it as a ‘true Australian story’. The film was an official selection for the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, one of the most prestigious international festivals with Cannes and Venice. It has also screened at many Australian and overseas film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festi- val, the main North American film festival. The film won the prestigious FIPRESCI inter- national jury award for the Best Asia Pacific Film at the 2007 Brisbane International Film Festival. FIPRESCI is the international federa- tion of film critics, with members in sixty coun- tries, and awards the prestigious International Film Critics Prize at film festivals around the world. Its first jury prize was presented at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. Qi Yuwu, who plays Joe, is a Singaporean Glossary Tony Ayres was awarded the Screenplay Prize actor born in Guangzhou in China and speaks at The NSW Premier’s Literary Awards for his Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Cheongsam – fitted dress with a high collar script of The Home Song Stories; it has also and slit skirt, traditionally worn by Chinese Irene Chen was born in Melbourne and at been short listed for an Australian Writer’s women. It is often made of shimmering silk or school in Year 11 when she was chosen to Guild award for Best Original Feature Film embroidered satin and is regarded as sleek, play the role of May. Writer/director Tony Script and the Victorian Premier’s Literary sexy and exotic. Rose wears a number of her Ayres describes Irene as a ‘stunning, natural Award for Screen Writing. cheongsams from Hong Kong with high heels. actress who displayed a maturity well beyond The style is very traditional and they can still her years’. Cast be bought in shops specializing in Asian-style clothes. Crew Rose Joan Chen Mahjong – a Chinese tile game for four play- Tom Joel Lok Writer/Director Tony Ayres ers. It involves skill, strategy, calculation and luck. Sometimes it is played for money as May Irene Chen Producers Michael McMahon & Liz Watts in the scenes in the film where we see Joe Bill Steven Vidler Director of Photography Nigel Bluck gambling in the restaurant with Bing and the Joe Qi Yuwu Editor Denise Haratzis other men. Bill’s mother, Norma Kerry Walker Production Designer Melinda Doring Dede or ‘Didi’ – Rose’s pet name for Tom. Means ‘little brother’. Joan Chen, who plays Rose in The Home Costume Designer Cappi Ireland Song Stories, was born in Shanghai in 1961. Composer Antony Partos Student Activity 1 At the age of fourteen, she was cast in a film by Mao Zedong’s wife after being spotted at Sound Designer Craig Carter Pre-viewing questions a rifle range. She went on to star in The Last Tony Ayres’ films and documentaries have 1. Is it important for us to record the stories Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1987) and won a number of awards. His first feature film, of previous generations, particularly family television series Twin Peaks, and is now both Walking On Water (2002), won a major award stories? Why does it matter? acting in and directing films. at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival, as well as 2. How do you record family occasions today, Joel Lok, who plays Tom, applied for the part five AFI Awards including Best Screenplay. compared to how people in a pre-digital after seeing an article in The Age newspaper His documentary films include the acclaimed age kept records of family life? Do we write seeking an 11-year-old boy to act in a major Sadness (1999), China Dolls (1997) and Mrs. letters, keep photo albums and/or diaries, motion picture. He asked his mother to call Craddock’s Complaint (1997). Ayres has also or keep mementoes of family life? the production company on his behalf, but written for television and stage, including Mrs. Lok said that if he was interested in act- Ghost Story, The Long Ride and The Fat Boy. ing he had to make the call himself. He did, and got the part. 3 The Home Song Stories 3. Apart from our own memories, what re- person to life and/or reflect on their child- sources are available to people wanting to hood and the experiences that made them write stories and/or create films about their the person they have become. It involves a family? filtration process, discarding some memories and focusing on others in more detail, select- 4. Do you think children in one family remem- ing ‘significance’ and making meaning from ber incidents from the past in the same memories and stories. way? Test this by recounting your memories of a family occasion with a brother or sister Sometimes the impulse to write about a family also present at the same occasion. member is triggered by a particular memory of something that happened or by a photo- 5. What is the difference between autobiogra- graph that brings back a vivid memory, or phy and biography? when a parent dies and we are clearing out 6. Are cultural displacement, generational con- their possessions. Equally, we may believe flict and family secrets important elements there is an interesting family story that needs in telling stories of family life? to be documented or a truth that needs to be 7. Should parents pursue their own dreams, told. The impulse to understand by telling your even when this may conflict with their pa- family story is central to Ayres’ film, The Home rental responsibilities? Song Stories. 8. Does it matter in artistic terms if stories Everything that happens in The Home Song of this story is set in suburban Australia in the we tell about family life are absolutely true, Stories actually happened in real life. I had an early 1970s. Similarly to Rai Gaita’s mother partly true or mostly ‘made up’? extraordinary, wild, traumatic childhood, large- Christina, Tony’s mother Rose’s mental in- ly due to the erratic behaviour of my beautiful, stability was compounded by loneliness and 9. How might memoirs, whether filmed or charismatic but mentally unstable mother. My cultural dislocation in what often seemed like written, be distressing for people still living sister and I were buffeted by these events, but a hostile and alien environment. As in Romu- whose lives are part of the story? survived mainly because of our love for each lus, My Father, the young son is both witness other.