A quietly devastating and deeply humane portrait of refuge and resilience
Pavane for an Infant (2024), directed by Malaysian filmmaker Chong Keat Aun, is a masterful and quietly devastating film that lingers long after the credits roll. Set in contemporary Kuala Lumpur, it follows Lai Sum (played with remarkable restraint by Fish Liew), a dedicated worker at a baby hatch facility, as she navigates the moral, emotional, and bureaucratic complexities of caring for abandoned infants. When a vulnerable teenage girl arrives at the shelter, Lai Sum is drawn into a situation that tests her empathy, resolve, and the limits of what she can protect.
The film's subject matter is inherently powerful, but it's the understated direction and nuanced performances that elevate it. Liew's portrayal of Lai Sum is especially affecting-she is shrewd and compassionate, yet visibly haunted by the child she once gave up. Her strength never overshadows her vulnerability, and the film resists easy sentimentality at every turn.
Chong's direction is restrained but assured. He avoids melodrama, instead allowing tension to build through silence, shadow, and stillness. One particularly harrowing scene-set in the aftermath of a confrontation with religious authorities-is so taut it's almost unbearable, yet never sensationalized. The cinematography by Leung Ming Kai and the sound design by Tu Duu-Chih and Wu Shu-Yao contribute to the film's immersive, almost meditative atmosphere.
Rather than offering neat resolutions, Pavane for an Infant leaves its narrative threads open-ended, inviting reflection rather than closure. It's a film that trusts its audience to sit with discomfort-and rewards them with a profound emotional experience.
Premiering in the Asian Future Competition at the 2024 Tokyo International Film Festival, the film has since garnered acclaim at Fribourg (Youth Jury Award), Istanbul, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (Opening Film). It's a standout example of socially engaged cinema that neither preaches nor panders.
This is a film that doesn't just ask for your attention-it earns it. And it stays with you.
