Tai yang yue

music in movies are seldom chosen randomly. To Rain Dogs, the repeating song at half way and at the end is a beautiful rendition of Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. And that tells you a lot.

Saw this at TIFF, never seen anything from the director before and I'm surprised that this is a very nicely done, subtly sentimental song for the timelessness of youth and the rite of passage in growing up.

The story revolves around Tung, the younger brother of a fatherless family somewhere in Malaysia. He is inarticulate, sees things in black and white, careless and sometimes clueless. A total opposite of his street smarts older brother.

The film centres around events in Tung's life and how he deals with everything, trying to grow-up and before his mom's eyes. There are no roller coaster rides, but the anxiety, curiosity, fears and maybe dreams of teenager is depicted here. Nicely done, but the pace of the film may be too slow and everyday-like.

Oh, and the uncle's acting is fantastic.