Lilting

2014
7.2| 1h31m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 07 August 2014 Released
Producted By: Microwave Film
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

A young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his lover of four years. Though the two don't share a language, they grow close through their grief.

Genre

Drama

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Director

Hong Khaou

Production Companies

Microwave Film

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Lilting Audience Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
alianiara Throughout this movie, about the half Chinese man or his partner, we don't know their jobs or other status. Nor do we know much about their characters; when they appear they are mostly either discussing or describing the Chinese mother. Yet about her, we know every detail.The one who refused to learn the language while attracted to the culture; the one who continued to control her son even though he is a total grown-up; the one who contests for her son's affections and attention with whoever comes across; the one who deliberately remained incapable of taking care of herself so that the son cannot leave her alone. So typically a Chinese mother.
bbbahrd Hydrangeas has two meanings in the language of flower. The flower was seen three times: twice mentioned its name by Kai, once shown at the end in which the mother was narrating. One is the coldness/heartlessness and this represents the mother's hatred toward Richard or dissatisfaction caused by Kai at the beginning of and the middle of the movie. Another meaning, is the giver's appreciation for the receiver's understanding: "Thank you for understanding." At the end of the movie where the mother and the flower were shown together, the flower tells the change of the mother's feeling and now the mother accepts what she faces. Thus, you might sense Kai's appreciation. This sounds sort of distorted but I like to stick to this idea because it is simply beautiful. Hope this surprises you.
dipesh parmar Junn (Cheng Pei Pei) is a widowed Cambodian-Chinese woman who lives in an old peoples home in London, placed there by her only son Kai (Andrew Leung). With no other family, and having left Cambodia over 50 years ago, Junn is alone and unwilling to adapt to her surroundings or the people she's placed with.She relies on Kai's attentions and affections, but her isolation becomes utterly complete with his unfortunate death. Junn knew that Kai lived in a house with Richard (Ben Wishaw), but Kai hadn't told her they were together as a couple. Grief-stricken himself, Richard feels duty-bound to help Junn, but they don't even share a common language let alone know much about each other.Alan (Peter Bowles) resides at the home too and starts an unusual relationship with Junn where they talk to each other in their own languages, not really knowing what on earth the other is thinking or talking about apart from physical gestures. Richard tries to help this sweet pairing by hiring a translator in Vann (Naomi Christie), so that they can communicate with each other. Its a way in for Richard to get closer to Junn, who has her own reasons for disliking him.'Lilting' is the debut from writer-director Hong Khaou, who shines a light on contrasting cultures in the capital. Grief is foremost in the minds of all concerned, Wishaw is wonderful as the achingly suppressed Richard, who gradually releases his grief the more he gets to know Junn, showing her just how much he loved Kai. Pei Pei plays the stoic mother perfectly, you can see the isolation, love and grief in her eyes.In light of the subject matter, the overall mood of 'Lilting' is quite forgiving. Junn and Alan provide the most endearing moments as well as some awkwardly comical scenes especially when they confess their bad habits to each other. Dealing with such weighty issues as love, memory, language and mourning, Khaou has directed an assured and thoughtful film full of subtle releases and deeply felt emotions.
l_rawjalaurence Superficially speaking, the subject of LILTING resembles that of LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003), as Junn, a Cambodian Chinese mother (Pei-pei Cheng) living in London mourns the loss of her son Kai (Andrew Leung), while trying and failing to communicate with those around her. Kai's boyfriend Richard (Ben Whishaw), wants to help her, and engages the service of Vann, a translator (Naomi Christie) so that communication between himself and Junn might be improved. Meanwhile Alan (Peter Bowles), an elderly man, embarks on his own pursuit of Junn's hand.However Hong Khaou's film looks at the difficulties of communication at a much deeper level than the purely linguistic. He invites us to reflect on the wisdom of Kai's decision to put his mother in sheltered accommodation, whose dingy décor is designed to make elderly people 'feel better.' Despite Richard's basic kindness and his protestations of endless love for Kai, we wonder whether he actually understand what either Kai or Junn actually think. Maybe it's not really necessary to hire a translator: communication between individuals can take place at a subliminal level. Vann does her best to act as an intermediary between Junn and Richard, or Junn and Alan, but it's clear that her role is a peripheral one in the drama of familial relationships across cultures.Shot in deliberately dark colors, LILTING depicts a world whose protagonists live in perpetual isolation, both literal as well as psychological. Junn's sheltered accommodation is both dark and prison-like; her fellow-residents seldom communicate except in clichés (Alan included). Richard's apartment is full of long, brick-lined passages; his kitchen is full of dirty cutlery, suggesting a fundamental inability to cope with life.Our relationship with the two central protagonists is a complex one. Whishaw tries his best to render Richard a sympathetic character, but the more effort he makes to try and bridge the cultural differences separating himself from Junn, the more frustrated he becomes. His final outburst, where he accuses Junn of failing to "assimilate" to contemporary British cultures, is a classic colonialist statement, leaving us to reflect on why he himself did not do more to adapt himself to her mores. By contrast Junn remains both silent and serene; her final soliloquy reveals her determination to continue her existence, despite the prospect of future loneliness. She does not need to "assimilate"; she has found her own way to negotiate the culture she inhabits.Modestly budgeted yet memorably staged by a director with an obvious affinity for the material, LILTING is an absorbing cinematic experience.