How Ann Hui skilfully tackled dementia in Summer Snow, award-winning Hong Kong film

Alzheimer’s disease is not the most appealing subject for a film, and that was especially true in early 1990s Hong Kong, where those with mental or physical disabilities were often stigmatised or used as the butt of jokes. It is a testament to Ann Hui On-wah’s skill that she not only managed to get 1995’s Summer Snow produced, but also made the result so palatable that it performed respectably at the box office. The light drama features Josephine Siao Fong-fong as a busy working woman who must find time to care for her father-in-law, played by Roy Chiao Hung, who has fallen prey to the illness. The film won six Hong Kong Film Awards in 1996: for best picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor and screenplay. Before that, Siao also took the prestigious Silver Bear award for best actress at the 1995 Berlin International Film Festival in Germany. Summer Snow marked Hui’s return to Hong Kong filmmaking after a period of inactivity due to the failure of My American Grandson (1991). “After a hiatus, Ann Hui returns with what is arguably her best picture,” wrote Post critic Paul Fonoroff in 1995. Siao plays May, an office administrator at a company that specialises in importing toilet paper from mainland China. Her father-in-law Lin (Chiao) has always been difficult but has started to become forgetful. When he begins to make mistakes like spreading a soap bar on his bread instead of butter, she realises something is badly wrong and takes him to a specialist. Lin is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a condition that May has never heard of. What is more, May and her family have to take care of him themselves and move him into their home. As will be familiar to anyone who has cared for an ageing parent with the illness, Lin’s condition steadily worsens as he loses his short-term memory. He first forgets his family members’ names, then who they are completely – though he does remember the name of a dog he used to like, as well as the distant past, when he was an ace fighter pilot. Meanwhile, May must deal with various indifferent and unhelpful family members while she and her husband, played thoughtfully by Law Kar-ying, try to keep their lives intact as the stresses of caring for him mount. “Summer Snow deals with a lower-middle-class family in Hong Kong confronted with the problem of an aged parent,” Hui told this writer in 1995. “It seems like an impossible situation, but gradually they try to establish a relationship with the sick man and to find something positive in his being around. They also try not to abandon the small things in their lives that are valuable to them. It’s a kind of impossible love.” Summer Snow surprises with its gentle comedic elements – it is, for instance, a far cry from the deeply reflective US film Still Alice (2014), which featured Julianne Moore as a lecturer coping with the slow progression of the condition. Realising that audiences would not want to endure 90 minutes of misery, Hui took a more genial approach. While she never makes fun of Lin’s condition, the absurdities of the domestic situation are presented with a warm, ironic humour that surfaces even when the characters’ tempers become frayed. In one scene, Lin, who is big and burly, traps his slightly built son in a powerful armlock one night, thinking he is a burglar, and has to be bribed with cash to let him go. Lin also tries to parachute off the roof with an umbrella, thinking he is still in his fighter plane, leading to a near-death experience and the film’s only stunt. The comedy was a way to make the gloomy subject matter more appealing, Hui explained. “Alzheimer’s disease is an impossible subject, and once I got the go-ahead from producers Harvest Crown, I tried my best to make it less horrible,” she said. “It’s a departure for me, as normally I would object to making a subject congenial to the audience. I took a non-commercial subject and tried to make it in a commercial way.” Siao, a star since the early 1960s, was influential on set, said Hui. Siao wanted her character May to have a funny side so she was not overwhelmed by the tragedy of Alzheimer’s. “The comedy aspect was influenced by Siao,” Hui said. “She thought the subject worthwhile, but depressing. She wanted the audiences to enjoy the movie, so she suggested ways of lightening it up. I accepted a lot of her opinions. “The comedy also has to do with a change in me. I’m getting more humorous myself. As I grow older, I tend to look at things in a more humorous light. I tend to find things funny now,” added Hui, who was then in her late 40s. Summer Snow was a long time in gestation, its origins tracing back to 1987 when Hui was researching a never-made documentary for a charity. “I went to some old people’s homes … and was severely shocked by the realisation that my own old age was imminent,” she said. The experience stayed with her, and she and screenwriter Chan Man-keung later drew from real-life stories gathered from volunteers in elderly centres, including a funny, easy-going toilet paper factory worker whose mother had Alzheimer’s. The film’s Chinese title is Woman, 40, which refers to the Confucian saying, “At 40, I had no doubts” – Confucius said he was firm in his beliefs at that age, therefore untroubled by life’s occurrences. The choice was ironic, as May and her husband are anything but certain about how their lives are going to play out. The English title is more poetic, referring to a heartwarming scene in which the ailing Lin mistakes falling blossoms for snow. It is a fitting metaphor for a film that finds grace and light in the most unexpected of winters. In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook

How Ann Hui skilfully tackled dementia in Summer Snow, award-winning Hong Kong film

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hui’s 1995 film Summer Snow presented a warm and gentle picture of Alzheimer’s disease, a stigmatised subject in Hong Kong at the time

Hui’s 1995 film Summer Snow presented a warm and gentle picture of Alzheimer’s disease, a stigmatised subject in Hong Kong at the time