Lilting

The debut film of Cambodian-British director Hong Khaou, Lilting is a film about the power of grief to bring disparate people together. 

The bulk of Lilting takes place in a London nursing home. Chinese-Cambodian Junn (Cheng Pei-pei) has lost her young son Kai (Andrew Leung), who served as her only connection to the alien, English-speaking world around her. Kai’s English lover Richard (Ben Whishaw), known to Juun only as her son’s roommate, enters her life in an attempt both to ease her pain and to deal with his own grief.  Gradually, with the help of a translator and through simple gestures, they begin to share memories of the man they both loved.

Lilting is a gentle, good-hearted piece, whose meditative pace allows the characters to slowly open up. There is little in the way of narrative momentum, but rather a quiet sort of progress, granting the two protagonists small-scale revelations as their empathy increases. This is a film about communication outside language and about finding hope through feeling. 

Ben Whishaw continues to prove himself one of Britain’s very best actors with a remarkable performance – grief-stricken and careworn, his Richard nevertheless ploughs optimistically into the future, trying his best to ease Juun’s suffering as he confronts his own loss. Cheng Pei-pei, a formidable force in wuxia since the 1960s best known to Western audiences for an award-winning role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, matches him with a restrained grace of her own. As her stoic façade and apparent disdain for Richard melts away, we are treated to a performance of impeccable subtly. Peter Bowles provides relief as the nursing home’s unreformed rake determined to win Juun’s heart, whilst Naomi Christie’s role as the interpreter adds a comic dimension to the leads' interactions.

Hong Khaou’s direction has a delicate, elegant hand, allowing his actors ample breathing room. Lilting was funded by the Microwave scheme, which challenges directors to make a film with a mere £120,000. On such a budget, the cinematography, which uses the landscape outside the home to enchanting effect, is exceptional.