Directed by Hong Khaou (Boy Crush, 2007), Lilting is one of the most heart-warming films of 2014.
This touching and intimate film follows the story of Richard (Ben Whishaw) and Cambodian-Chinese Junn (Cheng Pei Pei) as they come together through the death of lover and son, Kai (Andrew Leung).
Throughout the film, we observe the difficulties in connecting with each other without a common language.
From the very beginning of the film, it is clear that this will be extremely moving right until the very end.
The opening scene shows Junn remembering her last meeting with her son Kai and will immediately bring tears to your eyes when this becomes apparent.
It is clear that Kai is dead but it is only until the end of the film that your find out how he died and it is truly a moving scene.
Lilting is a powerful and beautiful story of loss and coming together through death.
Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Cloud Atlas) brings to life the character of Richard, who is suffering the loss of his lover and every scene is powerful and moving as he reaches out to Kai’s mother.
Cheng Pei Pei plays Junn the stubborn Cambodian-Chinese mother who you immediately feel sorry for her, not only because she has lost her only son but because she is in a foreign country and is unable to speak the native language.
This isolation and loneliness is reinforced through the death of Kai as he was her only way of communicating with anyone and it is heart-breaking to watch.
Both these leads performances are extremely powerful and though-provoking as they remember their last few encounters with Kai, who they both loved, and the film focuses on what happens/happened through the eyes of these characters.
It is a brilliantly moving film that will have you reaching for the tissues from the opening scene right through to the end.
Despite this, the film does bring some comedic elements in which is especially reinforced through Richard and Vann (Naomi Christie).
Vann is the appointed translator between Junn and Richard and even her love interest Alan (Peter Bowles).
With regards to Alan, this film brings into account the concept of the different cultures as Junn is portrayed as being a stubborn yet romantic and family-orientated Chinese woman whereas Alan seems to be portrayed as a sex-hungry man and is only looking for one thing from her.
One scene where this becomes apparent is when they reveal what they don’t like about each, which will make you smile as they begin to argue despite not having a common language.
To describe this film in one word it would be ‘heart-breaking’. It is a brilliantly moving story that connects to different cultures together through grief.
It is without a doubt a tear-jerker and words cannot really describe the brilliance of this delicate and enriching story.
Check out the trailer here:
