I just saw "Peacock" tonight as part of the New York Asian Film Festival. The review I read prior to watching this film touted it as one of the few stories set in post-Revolutionary China that isn't depressing. While this is true, "Peacock" is not sentimental either. Instead, it depicts the realities of small-town family life in a matter-of-fact manner that makes you feel for the characters even more.
The family dynamics were so real and relatable. Although I am Chinese-American, and my upbringing took place in comfortable suburban America, I could definitely recognize elements like the passive aggressive "tough love" of the mother toward the daughter (although my own mom is not quite so extreme), and the painful awkwardness of huddling in silence with my brother while family members audibly fought in the other room. The love-hate rivalry and relationships that each member of the family felt for one another, co-mingled with the accepted duties of filial piety and self-sacrifice (nowhere is this realized more than in the two younger siblings' treatment and attitude toward their older brother), was nuanced and realistic.
The performances were all amazing, particularly the actresses who played the mother and the daughter. The elder actress' portrayal of a hardworking woman who loved her entire family but expressed it differently toward different family members made me want to call up my mom right after the movie. And the actress who played the daughter made a role that could have come off a bit bratty into a three-dimensional character whom you could root for. She was perfectly vulnerable and tough at the same time. Truly a unique character.
The only flaw I found in "Peacock" was that the third act felt rushed, and plot progression was suddenly very abrupt. The third act was ostensibly about the youngest child (the narrator), but I learned more about him when he was "silent as a shadow" in the first two acts.... SPOILERS BELOW... .. .. .. It was hard to relate to him after he suddenly blew back into town, complete with swagger and a worldly new family. It felt a bit out of character, but also -- I didn't realize that being pulled out of school (all because of one dirty drawing?) meant that he ran away from home, and also, how did he go from serving at a rest home (in character) to being a cocky smoker? How did he lose a finger? How did he become so shiftless and lazy? And when did he reconcile with his wife? (In the penultimate scene with the two of them, she says she wouldn't have married him if she had known he didn't want to work for a living, but then in the final peacock scene, they look like a happy family again.) .. .. .. Despite what I perceive as a rushed ending with holes in character and story development, the film as a whole is beautiful, both sensually and content-wise. It is a realistic and compassionate depiction of family life that I believe most viewers will find to be fairly universal.
The family dynamics were so real and relatable. Although I am Chinese-American, and my upbringing took place in comfortable suburban America, I could definitely recognize elements like the passive aggressive "tough love" of the mother toward the daughter (although my own mom is not quite so extreme), and the painful awkwardness of huddling in silence with my brother while family members audibly fought in the other room. The love-hate rivalry and relationships that each member of the family felt for one another, co-mingled with the accepted duties of filial piety and self-sacrifice (nowhere is this realized more than in the two younger siblings' treatment and attitude toward their older brother), was nuanced and realistic.
The performances were all amazing, particularly the actresses who played the mother and the daughter. The elder actress' portrayal of a hardworking woman who loved her entire family but expressed it differently toward different family members made me want to call up my mom right after the movie. And the actress who played the daughter made a role that could have come off a bit bratty into a three-dimensional character whom you could root for. She was perfectly vulnerable and tough at the same time. Truly a unique character.
The only flaw I found in "Peacock" was that the third act felt rushed, and plot progression was suddenly very abrupt. The third act was ostensibly about the youngest child (the narrator), but I learned more about him when he was "silent as a shadow" in the first two acts.... SPOILERS BELOW... .. .. .. It was hard to relate to him after he suddenly blew back into town, complete with swagger and a worldly new family. It felt a bit out of character, but also -- I didn't realize that being pulled out of school (all because of one dirty drawing?) meant that he ran away from home, and also, how did he go from serving at a rest home (in character) to being a cocky smoker? How did he lose a finger? How did he become so shiftless and lazy? And when did he reconcile with his wife? (In the penultimate scene with the two of them, she says she wouldn't have married him if she had known he didn't want to work for a living, but then in the final peacock scene, they look like a happy family again.) .. .. .. Despite what I perceive as a rushed ending with holes in character and story development, the film as a whole is beautiful, both sensually and content-wise. It is a realistic and compassionate depiction of family life that I believe most viewers will find to be fairly universal.