The surprise hit, Time Still Turns the Pages <年少日記> not only became an indie sensation that made over HK$26 million at the box office but also scored 12 Hong Kong Film Awards nominations.
The acclaimed drama marks the directorial debut of Nick Cheuk (Yik-Him), who previously co-wrote Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight <今晚打喪屍> and Paradox <殺破狼·貪狼>, both of which released in 2017. And what an impressive debut it turns out to be — an engrossing social drama that deals with the still-taboo subject of mental health. Cheuk, who also served as the sole screenwriter, doesn’t shy away from the matter-of-fact issues surrounding one’s mental struggle with depression and suicidal tendencies.
The film opens with a scene that toys with audience expectations. It was a subtle hint of what comes next throughout Cheuk’s ingenious storytelling. He uses a lot of flashback moments to tell a story about a 10-year-old boy named Eli Cheng (Sean Wong), whose poor academic results often disappointed his parents, particularly his strict and abusive father (Ronald Cheng). His mum (Rosa Maria Velasco), on the other hand, is more forgivable but she still expects him to score good grades in school. Eli’s younger brother, Cheng Yau-Chun (Curtis Ho) performs better academically and he’s easily the most beloved child in the family.
The film also focuses on the present day revolving around Mr Cheng (Lo Chun-Yip), a teacher who has a tough time dealing with a stubborn student named Vincent “Van Gogh” (Henick Chou). If that’s not enough, a school janitor found a handwritten suicidal note in a classroom, prompting Mr Cheng to investigate the matter. Soon, we see the past and present moving back and forth between Eli Cheng’s and Mr Cheng’s respective predicaments.
Kudos to Cheuk for handling the subject matter delicately and I appreciate he doesn’t go overboard with the actors hamming it up while dealing with their fragile state of mental health. There’s a sense of empathy towards the subject matter and it also helps that Cheuk assembles a superb cast, beginning with Lo Chun-Yip’s sympathetic lead turn as Mr Cheng. Beyond his dedication as a teacher trying to help any students in his school struggling with mental health, he has a personal problem of his own. We see the internal struggle that’s been bottling up inside him and to make things worse, his married life with Sherry (Hanna Chan, in a solid supporting role) doesn’t end up well.
The younger actors are no slouches either as Sean Wong and newcomer Curtis Ho pull off remarkable supporting performances as Eli Cheng and Cheng Yau-Chun. Ronald Cheng does a good job playing the stern father role while Rosa Maria Velasco deserves equal mention as the estranged wife and mother.
As the film progresses, I love the way Nick Cheuk’s sleight-of-hand direction caught me off guard, proving his knack for utilising flashback-heavy and present-day timelines effectively. It also can be seen as a mystery of sorts, the kind that we gradually unpack what’s inside while playing an armchair detective. Such a crafty narrative approach may sound like a gimmick but it’s not. Instead, it was subtly incorporated to keep us invested deeply into the story and the character arcs.
Interestingly, Derek Yee happens to be the producer for Time Still Turns the Pages <年少日記>. Over 35 years ago, he used to tackle mental health in The Lunatics <癲佬正傳> back in 1986. Whereas the former was more of a vivid and uncompromising look at the subject matter, the latter is best described as a contemplative and low-key social drama.
ScreenHK 