Summary
A slow burner that’s all about the performances, sneaking up under the radar and making some cutting commentary on the ripple effects of the one child policy.
There’s been a number of films in the last few years that have dealt with the fallout of China’s ‘One Child’ policy. From the epic So Long, My Son to the documentary Leftover Women, the expectations on women and families in China has been demonstrably immense. Hide and Seek director Jie Liu explores some of that impact in micro thriller BABY (Bao Bei Er).
Former foster kid Jiang Meng (superstar Yang Mi) attempts to help kids in less than ideal homes. Her own upbringing was the result of a congenital condition that required multiple surgeries. Having just turned 18, she’s unable to stay with her foster mother, and works as a cleaner in a children’s hospital. There she discovers a baby with multiple ailments that the father simply wants to let die. Meng is determined not to let that happen.
If you saw Hou Hsiao-hsien’s (The Assassin) attached to the publicity for this film, you might get a fixed idea of what this film is about. It is a thriller of sorts, and a kind of heist film at that, but Jie Liu’s socio-political approach is more of the slow-burn variety. Indeed, this film is so deliberately paced as to make it feel like a much grander enterprise.
Which isn’t to say the film isn’t engaging, thanks in large part to the excellent work of Yang Mi. A recognisable face from Chinese television (most notably the Three Lives Three Worlds series and its spin-off), her performance here is both understated and mesmerising, totally nailing a perpetually pained expression of urgency. Also of note is Lee Hong-Chi’s (Long Day’s Journey Into Night) role as Meng’s deaf friend, a fellow foster kid doing his best to make ends meet.
BABY becomes a little frustrating in the second half, when the slight plotting and repetitive points about an uncaring bureaucratic system give way to a cycle of fatalism. Once Meng involves the police, there’s a lengthy back and forth between her, the father, and the authorities that restate the basic issues over and over.
Yet if BABY is to be believed, the foster system and the long-term impact of the One Child policy is culturally complex along with being a bureaucratic nightmare. If Jie Liu’s film is at least able to shed light on the hypocrisy of the current laws, then this small film has made a major impact.
2019 | China| DIR: Jie Liu | WRITER: Jie Liu | CAST: Yang Mi, Lee Hong-Chi | DISTRIBUTOR: Wild Bunch (World Sales), Melbourne International Film Festival (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 1 – 18 August 2019 (AUS)
