Beginning as a straightforward melodrama about an abducted child, Dearest, the new film from Peter Ho-Sun Chan, spirals off in several directions to the point where moral and legal areas that once were black and white become murky shades of grey. It’s a hard film to pin down, not least because after the initial disappearance the plot gets messy, jumping forward in time at seemingly random intervals. While Tian Wen-Jun (Huang Bo) pours all his time and money into searching and offering rewards for their son, his ex-wife Lu Xiao-Juan (Hao Lei) is finding her new marriage can’t take the strain. At any moment it could become an entirely different film – a revenge thriller, perhaps, or an exploration of the sometimes creepy activities of their support group for parents with missing children.
When the film does solidify the drama is interesting, but can’t help being disappointing on some level, as the story and characters we began with are not the same as what we end with, and in retrospect much of the first half feels superfluous. Still, it sets up a conflict for the last half where there genuinely is no good or bad decision to be made, the film and the characters forcing and pleading with you to make a decision just as the plot and the law must decide. The closing credits show the real-life case was resolved and it’s shocking because there’s nothing upfront to suggest it’s based on a true story. Now that we’ve seen and enjoyed a fictionalised version play out we’re forced to realize these are real people and real lives being affected.
The city is full of visual metaphors, reminders of what was lost: a spiderweb of wires in an alley, trapping its inhabitants; a child chasing a car growing smaller and smaller in the wing mirror; a group of children, one fewer than before, fire slingshots at red balloons until one detaches and floats away; a fountain falls silent as a couple decide to divorce. These images are so evocative that when the characters actually fall into hysterics or physically grapple with each other — which happens very often — the film’s power is undermined. Holding back tears is much more effective than openly weeping – if the character’s crying, the audience probably won’t be.
Overwrought and disorganized in places, Dearest is nevertheless a well-made and ultimately moving film.
Dearest screened at London Film Festival and is seeking U.S. distribution. See the trailer above.