After This Our Exile
United States Premiere
Hong Kong, Taiwan, 2006, 160 min
Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles
Screening Time
8:30pm April 15, 2007
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Director
Patrick Tam
Filmography
My Heart is That Eternal Rose (1989), Burning Snow (1988), Final Victory (1987), Cherie (1984), Nomad (1982), Love Massacre (1981), The Sword (1980)
Cast and Credits
Aaron Kwok, Charlie Young , Ian Iskandar Goum , Kelly Lin , Valen Hsu , Hai-Lu Qin
Synopsis
Good looks. Charming. Ladies man. Male buddies looked up to him. Not anymore. He is a shadow of the man he once was. A man past his prime. He has gambled it all away. He is down and out. And he is a father to a son who is smart and loves him dearly – though he may not always understand why his father hurts his mother. So when the mother plots to leave the father, the son informs the father and the mother is violently beaten and locked up. But the mother schemes to leave anyway after that and the son is left alone with the father. Soon the gambling habits of the father make a thief out of the son. The son resists but is no match to the father's cajoling and blackmail. The son is finally caught and sent to a juvenile detention center. The father visits him and the son bites off his ear. The lost of innocence is complete.
Ten years later, the son returns to his hometown and sees somebody who looks like his father – they do not meet. Father and son walks away in different directions.
Awards and Festivals
19th Tokyo International Film Festival – Best Asian Film, Best Artistic Contribution
43rd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival – Best Feature Film, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor
1st Rome International Film Festival
11th Pusan International Film Festival
10th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Goteborg International Film Festival 2007
Marrakech International Film Festival 2007
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2007
Director's Bio
After This Our Exile is Patrick Tam’s first directorial effort in 17 years since his 1989 film My Heart is That Eternal Rose. He has also worked as the film editor for Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild and Ashes of Time as well as Johnnie To's Election.