Time Nonetheless Turns the Pages evaluation – delicate account of the cycle of trauma | Movie
Grappling with the nonetheless taboo problem of Hong Kongers’ psychological well being struggles, Nick Cheuk’s stirring drama contemplates a debilitating cycle of trauma. Startled by the invention of a suicide word written by an nameless scholar, highschool trainer Mr Cheng (Lo Chun-yip) is taken again to a painful previous marred by parental abuse and tutorial stress. As Cheng flips by means of a diary penned by a younger boy named Eli (Sean Wong Tsz-lok), the latter’s quiet sufferings are juxtaposed with the trainer’s tough current.
Enduring each day comparability to his academically profitable brother in addition to corporal punishment from his violent father, Eli is alienated from his family, a paralysing solitude that mirrors Cheng’s personal since his latest divorce. Via a delicate and efficient use of flashbacks, the connection between Eli and Cheng is regularly revealed. Along with drawing a hyperlink between the neglect that festers at school and at house, Cheuk’s therapy of childhood abuse is particularly delicate, illustrating how an informal, merciless comment can sting simply as a lot as a brutal beating. Tsz-lok’s inquisitive efficiency additionally emphasises what many mother and father fail to acknowledge: that youngsters are simply as perceptive, if no more, than adults.
Wanting in direction of the sunshine, Cheuk’s profound movie seeks a means out of the darkish tunnel. Eli has chosen to lock his distress inside his diary, but his tragic finish leaves a black void that continues to confound makes an attempt made by others at pleasure and fulfilment. However as Cheng searches for the author of the suicide word, his efforts not solely present a mandatory blueprint for a trainer’s care but in addition counsel a liberating path from household demons.
Time Nonetheless Turns the Pages is launched on 24 November in UK cinemas
