‘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 Motherhood, now being showcased at the Tokyo International Film Festival. As its title suggests, the sophomore feature from director Chan Oliver Siu Kuen (Still Human) deals with a new mother coping with the emotional and physical demands of her infant daughter, and the portrait it paints is harrowing.

The film begins in bucolic enough fashion, with a close-up of a baby crib mobile that might suggest peaceful nights and mornings in which a child is lulled into serenity. But such is sadly not the case with Jing (Hedwig Tam) and her newborn, the latter of whom spends most of her waking moments crying hysterically. The resulting physical exhaustion is particularly tough for Jing as she works long hours at a bakery and is intent on keeping her job.

She and her husband, Wai (Lo Chun Yip), live with his parents — “Good luck with that!” a co-worker says wickedly — whose efforts are not always of the helpful variety. At one point, Jing finds her child covered in black dots, the result of ashes from the “charm paper” her mother-in-law (Pang Hang Ying) has used to ensure the baby’s good fortune. Jing is also determined to breastfeed, and naturally gets highly annoyed 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 for advice from friends and peruses online forums, resorting to all sorts of mechanical pumps and dietary methods to increase her milk supply. But her efforts go largely for naught. Meanwhile, Wai, who has a full-time job, proves typically clueless — grudgingly offering the barest of help with parenting and disparaging her desire to keep working. Even the couple’s intimate relationship suffers, with their attempt at lovemaking 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 attempts to find another. Prospective employers are impressed by her baking skills but decline to hire her after she reveals she has a baby. Eventually, she finds herself lying about her status.

Chan, who wrote the screenplay after the birth of her first child, presents a deeply empathetic depiction of Jing’s travails. She’s abetted by Tam’s superb portrayal, which movingly conveys Jing’s shifting moods. Perhaps the highlight of her performance is the lengthy 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 helplessly screaming at her infant daughter who doesn’t stop crying.

Later, in a tender moment with her own mother (Au Ga Man Patra), who attempts to console her, Jing tearfully admits, “I miss being a daughter.” Dissecting with near-clinical precision the pressure of new maternity and the possible loss of self-identity that accompanies it, Montages of a Modern Motherhood handles its universal-feeling subject matter with depth and sensitivity.