LINE

    Text:AAAPrint
    Culture

    Film captures a mother's struggle with Alzheimer's

    1
    2016-08-25 08:53China Daily Editor: Feng Shuang
    A scene from Happiness. (Photo provided to China Daily)

    A scene from Happiness. (Photo provided to China Daily)

    Kara Wai Ying-hung says she feels guilty about her late discovery of her mother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

    "My mother showed the early-stage symptoms in her 50s, an age seemingly too young to develop the disease. I didn't realize it in time and had been rude and careless to her."

    With her career spanning 40 years, Wai is one of the icons in the martial arts genre in Hong Kong cinemas. The first recipient of the Hong Kong Academy Award for best actress, Wai has acted in about 150 movies and TV series.

    To make amends for her ignorance, the award-winning actress has chosen to make a film centering on the disease to raise the public awareness and promote social care of the elderly.

    Happiness, which will open across China on Friday, has received wide attention at several international film events, such as the 39th Asian-American International Film Festival held last month in New York.

    At the 7th Macao International Movie Festival, Wai and Carlos Chan, respectively, won the best actress and best supporting actor awards for their close-to-life performance.

    Depicted by Wai as a twisted reflection of her life, the bittersweet tale chronicles an unlikely friendship between a lonely young man and his landlord, an elderly woman in the early stage of Alzheimer's.

    Chan, a Hong Kong singer-actor known for the 2014 HIV/AIDS-themed movie For Love, We Can, stars as the young man, who turns from an uncooperative tenant to a caring friend.

    Wai reveals that her character's physical features, with gray hair and clumsy gestures, are based on her mother, who was finally diagnosed with the illness in her 70s and is now 91.

    "I owe my mother an apology," says Wai.

    Wai's mother became bad-tempered and began to lose her memory when she was in her 50s. However, the signs were ignored by the then busy actress who simply saw the increasingly difficult relationship as a generational gap.

    "The conflicts and squabbles in the movie were situations that I've experienced."

    Once the only money-earner in family, Wai's mother peddled goods on Hong Kong streets to raise Wai and her siblings. Wai tapped into the showbiz circle at 14 and has tasted the ups and downs of the Hong Kong film industry.

    "Now I'm still living with my mother, who's my biggest support. I hope people who watch Happiness will care more about the elderly at home," says the 56-year-old, who has switched to indie titles in recent years.

    Latest statistics reported by the domestic media show that China has the world's largest population of Alzheimer's patients, reaching 10 million by the end of last year.

    But the world's second-largest movie market, with an annual output north of 600 movies last year, has very few big-screen productions reflecting the group.

    Last year, a similar-themed movie The Song of Cotton garnered limited attention amid the commercial genres that dominate the market.

      

    Related news

    MorePhoto

    Most popular in 24h

    MoreTop news

    MoreVideo

    News
    Politics
    Business
    Society
    Culture
    Military
    Sci-tech
    Entertainment
    Sports
    Odd
    Features
    Biz
    Economy
    Travel
    Travel News
    Travel Types
    Events
    Food
    Hotel
    Bar & Club
    Architecture
    Gallery
    Photo
    CNS Photo
    Video
    Video
    Learning Chinese
    Learn About China
    Social Chinese
    Business Chinese
    Buzz Words
    Bilingual
    Resources
    ECNS Wire
    Special Coverage
    Infographics
    Voices
    LINE
    Back to top Links | About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
    Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
    Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
    主站蜘蛛池模板: 含山县| 明光市| 田阳县| 墨脱县| 安龙县| 彝良县| 九台市| 东平县| 乃东县| 霍州市| 十堰市| 永德县| 子长县| 泽库县| 达日县| 永清县| 嘉荫县| 呼和浩特市| 醴陵市| 汝州市| 弋阳县| 青阳县| 桐乡市| 托里县| 天柱县| 泸溪县| 大安市| 宁夏| 科技| 开江县| 喀喇沁旗| 大关县| 灯塔市| 稻城县| 大港区| 涟水县| 南乐县| 古蔺县| 玛多县| 德令哈市| 霍州市|