NYAFF 2022 Review: MAMA BOY, A Visually Poetic Tale About Growing Pains
U.S.-born filmmaker Arvin Chen’s third feature is a profile in coming-of-age hardship amid family drama in Mama Boy, fresh out of Taiwan and currently circulating festivals abroad with its latest movement now at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival. Distribution Workshop is representing the film internationally per its announcement last year with a cast led by Tiny Times franchise actor Kai Ko, and actress Vivian Hsu following their last shared screen credit, Jeff Chang’s 2013 comedy, Machi Action.
We meet Xiao Hong (Kai Ko), who’s a bit of a basketcase. He lives with his overprotective and intrusive mother, Meiling (Sara Yu), who insists on coordinating just about every aspect of his life in hopes of securing his future, including his romantic interests. There is just one problem: Xiao has just turned 29. He’s never had a girlfriend, and everytime she sets him up on a date, it ends in disaster. As it stands, aside from his deferential demeanor, clean cut image and bowl-cut hairdo, his most interesting quality stems from his knowledge about aquatic pet life, per the employment he shares with his cousin Wen-hao (Yan Sheng-Yu) at their live fish store.
One evening, Wen-hao decides to treat a reluctant Xiao Hong to a late gift for his birthday, and they arrive at a sex hotel managed by Sister Lele (Vivian Hsu). Of course, Xiao Hong grows cold feet the second his pants are about to come off and then he runs away – just short of getting on his scooter and riding home – before bumping into Lele outside and striking up a conversation. What follows is a journey into an unexpected romance that not only reveals an unsettling air of trouble behind the veil as the two become more acquainted, but also exposes Xiao Hong to one of the harshest and most inescapable truths about life, manhood and the prospect of growth.
Penned by Chen and co-writer Sunny Yu, and also starring Fandy Fan of basketball drama We Are Champions, with appearances by Australia-born Joanne Missingham, Mama Boy is a depiction of two distinct parallels of the mother/son relationship. The secretive connection Xiao Hong makes with Lele despite their age difference is a cordial and pleasant one – a real and genuine connection that is purely understanable considering their motivations. It’s also the most tragic as factors from both their lives begin to intertwine, between Meiling’s increasing unrest from the changes in Xiao Hong’s behavior and overall routine, and Lele’s own son, Weijie, whose counterfeit wine business lands him on the wrong end of both the law, and the loansharks hounding him.
The film reaches climactic boiling point that also sees one of the more tender moments between Xiao Hong and Lele, prefacing an explosive and timely recapitulation. It’s a key moment in Xiao Hong’s life that’s bookended by Meiling whose last line in the film wholly brings things full circle. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself braining fish metaphors for the next ninety four minutes after this either, per the film’s initial opening shot with respect to our protagonist. Everything about it fits in the film’s overall messaging, culminating what we get in Mama Boy – a sometimes quirky and comedic, albeit emotionally arresting story of self-discovery though the quixotic naiveté of young love, and the kind of pain and heartbreak not even the most protective parent can shield their child from.
The 20th New York Asian Film Festival runs from July 15 through July 31.
The 2022 edition of the New York Asian Film Festival is being held from July 15 through July 31.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!