In 1960’s Hong Kong, Mr. Lau, a once successful writer, is experiencing a lull in steady, respectable work and is simultaneously struggling with his addiction to women and alcohol. He attempts to navigate through this difficult time in his life, but he’s feeling very displaced and out of touch, regularly allowing his thoughts to return to his upbringing during wartime in Shanghai.
In order to bring some semblance to his life, he ventures outside of his apartment to spend time with one of the three women in his life; a 17 year old, a prostitute, and a married woman. Lau also finally accepts work in the form of less fulfilling pulp novels and erotica.
Freddie Wong, though a first time director, has a masterful ability to capture the stream of consciousness feel of the classic novel by Liu Yichang. As Lau wanders through his life in a haze, so the audience follows him in a similar haze. The comparison to Wong Kar-wai that I made in my interview may not have been well-received, but it’s still relevant. After seeing the film for myself the similarities are few, but are evident in the color saturation particularly. 1960’s Hong Kong, as with 1960’s America, does have a very distinct feel; the costumes and set design are beautiful.
The narrative is less about a particular storyline and more about capturing this brief span of a struggling writer’s life. All of us have felt this lost and confused, although perhaps not to Lau’s self-deprecating scale. Every so often, the film cuts to black with Chinese writing across the screen to explain what Lau happens to be thinking at a particular time. This element adds a very literary feel to the action, appropriate for being the thoughts of a writer.
Freddie Wong is a considerate, thoughtful filmmaker and it’s very obvious watching the film that the source material is very important to him. The Drunkard is beautiful but slow-moving, and has the potential to provoke personal reflection.
Director: Freddie Wong
Notable Cast: Guozhu Zhang, Irene Wan, Elena Kong
Writer(s): Freddie Wong, based on the novel by Liu Yichang
