Mad World

If you have a taste for natural light, crying a lot, and excellently genuine (genuinely excellent) screen writing, this is your movie. Though much of the acclaim I've read by online critics is the realism with which mental illness is treated, it heaps some of the most alienating societal abuses of the mentally ill on one person for full effect, short of failure of the justice sytem. Is that realism? Perhaps not, but it has a powerful political/moral point. The result of this is an almost over sweet tearjerker, but I honestly can not decide whether I am amazed that one movie revealed a seemingly unending store of emotion in me, or whether I am disappointed by Chor Hang Chan's reliance on that catharsis. I would go with the former. Outside of borderline cloying revelations, there are some dark and unforgiving moments, and some genuinely humorous ones, acknowledging that redemption is not the only frame for the issue at hand. The performance by Shawn Yue is well in character, drab and passionate at the right moments. And Chun Wong can definitely be relied upon as a director.

And if you watch it for nothing else, the kid is incredibly adorable.

This film tells the story of a young man whose life is in havoc because of bipolar disorder. He painfully finds out that he loses his job, his fiancée, his friends and his dignity after a one year stay in a mental hospital.

I have to say I am very impressed by "Mad World". First of all, it is rare for a Hong Kong film to have a non mainstream topic. The topic is so non mainstream that it is almost a taboo. I applaud the filmmakers for making this film, exposing the pain of people recovering from mental illness and their relatives too. One person's pain is transmitted to the families because of societal ignorance, intolerance and discrimination. Some painful moments are done in an almost comedic manner, such as people taking photos of Tung in the banquet, which lighten up the mood but also provokes the debate whether it is right or wrong to act like they did.

Secondly, acting is great. I never knew Eric Tsang is so good at portraying emotional roles, as I have previously seen him mostly in comedic roles. Another strength of this film is that the plot is realistic, depressing and very touching. The plot is so strong that I think it is hard for people not to be moved. Furthermore, the production quality is actually good, especially the cinematography which is unusually good. It enhances the mood and suspense, such as the scene of water going down the drain.

I enjoyed watching "Mad World". I hope more people will watch it, making the society understand the immense agony that people recovering from mental illness and their families go through.

It is a mad world ... and for some it is even madder. Some people seem not to be able to catch a break. This movie is about outsiders who have issues to stay sane. And who can blame them? If you are into dramas and like slow paced genuinely story telling with some good acting to boast with too, look no further. While this is not for everyone, those who are into it, will love the reality of it all, the gravitas the movie bathes in.

Again you may feel this isn't something worth watching and that is ok. If you'd rather watch something that is quite far away from reality that is more than fine. Just don't blame this movie for being the opposite. If this isn't your kind of deal, just don't watch it.

Wonderful Honcongo, who would represent the country at the Oscar if selected, introspective, intense, melancholy, sad, it hurts to see the father trying to save his son (although I'm sure he was the one most responsible for the youngest having abandoned them, and having overloaded the firstborn, parental abandonment, this causes deep degradations in the personality in the long run) Tung's pain, trying to get out of the emotional abyss, prejudice, hope in children, beautiful, sad and passionate...

There have been few note-worthy films coming out of Hong Kong for some time. It does seem that every other output from the studios is a commercial film that tries hard to appeal to the gargantuan China market. In this sense, debut director Wong Chun's Mad World is an audacious and brave film.

The subject matter is mental illness and it is remarkable that the film never stoops down low to gain your sympathy through cheap histrionics. The film earns it through superlative performances and keen observations. It not only gets inside the mind space of a mental illness patient, it also studies the plight of the care-giver and the bystanders standing in the path of the malady. Neither does the film shout slogans, point fingers or offer pet solutions. Mad World is an indictment on the social stigma and medical agencies, but how it remains deeply humanist is a deft balancing act.

Shawn Yue puts in a career-defining performance as Tung, a bipolar disorder sufferer. His range is commendable and his portrayal totally surprised me. He can start taking on more challenging roles, other than rebellious hunks and rigid police officers. There is a scene of him crying late into the night, every last bit of moisture inside him is pushing out of his eyes and yet he just can't stop. When finally he did stop crying, it is because a precocious little boy who lives next door is whispering a story from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince through the thin wall to encourage him. That scene moved me, I doubt Tung can hear the story clearly, but I think at that point he needed to hear a voice from an understanding person.

Eric Tsang as a guilt-ridden father trying to make amends is such a natural. My tears rolled down at a heart rending scene where he explains why he left his family. The reason doesn't make it right, but it is perfectly understandable why he did it. As Tung's illness takes a turn for the worst, his soul becomes a constant battlefield – do I do the right thing or do I do the loving thing?

Jin as Tung's embattled mother and Fong as the ex-fiancée struggling to forgive Tung are also pitch-perfect. All four, including screenwriter Florence Chan and the director have been showered with nominations at last year's Golden Horse Film Festival and Hong Kong Film Awards, and some of them have deservedly racked up the accolades.

Where Mad World perhaps over-played its hand will be the scenes of the church portrayed as over-enthusiastic zealots and Tung's friend Louis having a turn for the worst at one point. The film felt like it was over-reaching. But I am not taking anything away from the film. This is a compassionate look at mental illness and it looks at the issue from all the angles. I would hardly call it an entertaining film, more of an affective and effective thought provoking piece of filmmaking. Give me thought provoking anytime.