“Montages of a Modern Motherhood” Review: Chinese Maternity Drama

Anyone in the late stages of pregnancy might do well to avoid Montages of a modern maternitynow being introduced to Tokyo International Film Festival. As the title suggests, director Chan Oliver Siu Kuen’s second film (Still human) deals with a new mother dealing with the emotional and physical demands of her daughter, and the portrait she paints is harrowing.

The film begins in a rather bucolic way, with a close-up of a mobile crib that might suggest quiet nights and mornings where a child is quiet. But sadly, that’s not the case with Jing (Hedwig Tam) and her newborn, who spends most of his waking hours crying hysterically. The resulting physical exhaustion is especially hard on Jing because she works long hours at a bakery and plans to keep her job.

She and her husband Wai (Lo Chun Yip) live with his parents – “Good luck with that!” says a coworker — whose efforts aren’t always of the helpful variety — spitefully. At one point, Jing finds her child covered in black dots, the result of the ash from the “charm paper” her mother-in-law (Pang Hang Ying) used to ensure the child’s luck. Jing is also determined to breastfeed, and naturally becomes very angry when she discovers that her mother-in-law has been using formula without her permission.

Not that breastfeeding is easy, as Jing discovers to her frustration. She asks friends for advice and scours online forums, turning to all sorts of mechanical pumps and feeding methods to increase her milk supply. But her efforts are largely in vain. Meanwhile, Wai, who has a full-time job, proves habitually clueless – relentlessly offering the strictest help with her education and disdainful of her desire to continue working. Even the couple’s intimate relationship suffers, with their attempt at love ending abruptly after it proves too painful for her.

After Jing is let go from her job (her co-worker doesn’t have a husband to support her, her boss reasons), she desperately tries to find another. Potential employers are impressed by her baking skills, but refuse to hire her after she reveals she has a child. Eventually, she finds herself lying about her status.

Chan, who wrote the script after the birth of her first child, presents a deeply empathetic portrayal of Jing’s suffering. She is encouraged by Tam’s superb portrayal, which poignantly conveys Jing’s changing moods. Perhaps the highlight of her performance is the long monologue she delivers about motherhood, in which Jing confesses to feeling everything from overwhelming joy to crippling despair. You find yourself sympathizing with her even when she’s reduced to yelling helplessly at her daughter, who won’t stop crying.

Later, in a tender moment with her own mother (Au Ga Man Patra), who tries to comfort her, Jing tearfully admits, “I miss being a daughter.” Dissecting with almost clinical precision the pressure of new motherhood and the possible loss of self-identity that accompanies it, Montages of a modern maternity approaches its universal subject with depth and sensitivity.