Heartache --- Reflections on the movie “Loveless”

I bought a ticket online for the very first screening of the movie “Loveless”, much attracted by the movie title, the picture of a sad-looking boy, and the remark “screening with heart-ache (心痛放映)” that accompanied the screening schedule. I was thus prepared for a tear-jerker when I went to the cinema. 

The movie is a realistic portrayal of human nature. As the name suggests, it is an accusation against an aching void of love between people, resulting in their selfishness, pretentiousness, jealousy and greed. The discontented wife has endless complaint about her unhappy marriage, which she claims to have resorted to as an escape from her nagging mother. Her mother has, in fact, brought her up with strict disciplines and stringent religious rules. Even years later, when mother and daughter meet, the exchange of words serve only to hurt each other rather than mending a withered relationship. She is thus thirsty for love outside her marriage. The husband, though less verbally aggressive, is also obsessed with an extramarital affair. 

What and whom is the heartache about then? It is their twelve-year-old boy who has been thrown into the abyss of despair, loneliness and misery. He is undoubtedly the victim of his parents’ “lovelessness”. For, instead of feeling sorry for having neglected him, they have seen him as a hindrance to their pursuit of what they call genuine love. The mother even mentions more than once that his birth has ruined her life. Therefore, his sudden disappearance one day does not come as a surprise. 

The details of the search procedure are depicted vividly and profoundly, keeping us audience emotionally engaged. The scene of a forlorn, desolate underground structure beneath a forest region suspected to be the boy’s hideout is distressing. Imagine the boy hiding himself in a place so shabby and dilapidated in his eagerness to avoid witnessing the constant quarrels between his parents. The agony he suffered must have been traumatizing! 

The director succeeds in drawing attention to the evil consequences of parental divorces. The movie is indeed a wake-up call to parents at this time when broken families have become a common social phenomenon.

I did not shed a tear but I felt a heartache that lingered long after I had left the cinema.

A piece of advice for the would-be viewers :Be prepared for certain scenes unsuitable for children and teenagers.