Harmony in Cinema: Fagara (2019) [Spoiler Alert]
Written by Carson Chow
Photographs Courtesy of Film
Fagara (Hua Jiao Zhi Wei), a Hong Kong film which opened in 2019, suffered locally in box offices but it was a Chinese drama filled with excitement and a willingness to explore the idea of a big extended Chinese family across multiple regions, which may resonate wth audiences everywhere.
The plot centers on a Hong Kong woman (played by Sammi Cheng) who is left with a mala hotpot restaurant and two half-sisters (one from China and one from Taiwan) after her father suddenly passed away. Reunited with her two sisters, they try to revive the hot pot business together while navigating their personal lives respectively. Even though this may be starting to sound like Ang Lee’s famous 1994 Taiwanese family drama on food, Eat Drink Man Woman (Yin Shi Nan Nu), director Heyward Mak’s (麥曦茵) interest does not seem to lie on tropes of romance, or even the food in her story.
Sponsored by TIFF.
Adapted from a Chinese romance novel published in 2010, My Spicy Love (Wo De Ai Ru Ci Ma La), the film removed almost all of the romantic elements. The sister from China is trying to escape from her grandmother’s desires for her own marriage; the sister from Taiwan is grappling with her relationship with her mother. Moreover, the film’s premise focuses heavily on the love/hate relationship with the deceased father, and examines the connection between the sisters from different Chinese-speaking regions — something rarely seen on the big screen.
More than anything, such focus on the concept of family is apparent in the chosen names of the three main characters: the three sisters are named Tree (Ru Shu), Branch (Ru Zhi) and Fruit (Ru Guo), highly suggestive of the notion that “We are all the same family born from the same root.” The sense of harmony is found throughout the film as there is not a single scene of conflict or tension amongst the three sisters who have just discovered the existence of one another, but the audience are fed with their proclivity for support from and connection with one another. Upon their first meeting, the three women were able to bond instantly despite their communication shifting between Cantonese and Mandarin!
The film’s vision is an ideal one — the imaginary last shot of the three sisters finally having a proper dinner with their father together. There was no tension nor any linguistic barrier, only harmonious understanding. Whether one speaks English, French, Cantonese, or Mandarin more fluently, this kind of scene is something many would love to achieve at family dinners and beyond! As there are many dialects as well as movements due to Chinese diasporic migration around the world today, one will often find that even though someone may be ethnically Chinese, communication is often fraught because of linguistic differences. Overall, the intention of the film seeks to ask the younger generation to gain a better understanding of their Chinese heritage, society and culture and then to grow stronger collectively.
“The sense of harmony is found throughout the film as there is not a single scene of conflict or tension amongst the three sisters who have just discovered the existence of one another, but the audience are fed with their proclivity for support from and connection with one another. Upon their first meeting, the three women were able to bond instantly despite their communication shifting between Cantonese and Mandarin!”
At the end of the film, the sister in Hong Kong reazlies her love for her father and for her newfound family. She sells the hotpot business, purchases a car and learns to drive into her new life, signifying the hope of moving on. Some may see this film having a very positive undertone as it seems to promote a harmonious relationship between the very distinct characters with distinct personal stories and language preferences, but this sweet drama has all the kind intentions that try to light the way and give this big extended Chinese-speaking family a possibility to shine.
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