Death's Outreach! part2

epi 20: Vicky's death
A phone call at night…Very cold, I want to come home….
Ah On rushes to find Vicky on a beach, with waves lapping over her. He pulls her onto the shore. His chest compressions revived her. Hope springs in his heart.

You'll be fine, you'll be fine. I'm taking you to the hospital.

But she is dying probably from the combo intake of pills and liquor, rather than from drowning by the look of the foam in her mouth. She stops Ah On from taking her to the hospital.

Gor, no need.
What do you want to say? asks Ah On, gently.
“I’m sorry!” Vicky asks for her brother's forgiveness, and dies.
“Sum!”

Ah On is shell-shocked. Can it be that death has taken yet another of his loved ones? After all , he did revive her? Didn't he? How could she die? How can lightning strike twice within such a short time? How? Inconceivable! No! This can’t be happening. Hugging her tightly in his arms, he begs, he pleads:

“Get up, Sum! Get up!

He is terrified, so very terrified. He thought he was already drained dry of emotions by the loss of his daughter but this devastation plucks his heart right out of him.

"Sum!" he wails.

He goes into shock. In a normal voice, he says gently to his younger sis as if soothing her:

Guai ya, Ah gor's not angry with you. Mom isn't either.

There he holds her, rocking her gently in his arms, and stroking her hair tenderly. How can he ever forgive himself? How?

Ah gor.....such connotation comes with a responsibility!

part 1 baby's death link
vicki's character

Vicki, Selfish?

.On the outside, some people may say she is selfish. Actually I don't think Selfish is the best word to describe her character. She's more 'materialistic'. From growing up, her aim was to climb on top of everyone- to marry a rich man and be set for life. ........ If it wasn't for her brother not believing her earlier, Vicki wouldn't have turned herself into alcoholic and involved herself in the accident- later ending her life. fungyifanatic, May 4 2008 asianfanatics

With all due respect, I think selfish is the exact word to use on Vicky, as well as these: vain, shallow, spoiled, self-centered, self-absorbed, and of course, materialistic. Her suicide is the ultimate selfish act that a person can do to her loved ones. Yes, she loves her family and Raymond, too, but all at her convenience and her love is very conditional. As much as she loves them, she can just as selfishly cut them off, quite hardheartedly I might add, like she did to her mother in the office, to Ah On, to Raymond and off course, to her unborn baby, when they interfered with her dreams of social advancement.

                                                     Vicki's death on the beach

Updated 2011 nov: Ah On - the Character

AJCL's scriptwriter, Koo Wai Nam, said he wrote Ah On's character with Steven in mind. link

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Posted 28 April 2008 - 10:09 AM

Imo, Ah On is a tricky, as opposed to difficult, character to portray; reason being that Ah On is such a bland and mild character, and a goody-2 shoes at that, plus there’s not much gripping drama in his story to make him stand out. Ah On is just like a glass of milk, nutritious and satisfying but not intoxicating like wine. This kind of stock character is very easily overshadowed by the more colorful characters like Gaga or more quirky personalities like Fat Boss. The most attention grabbing characters, of course, are the villains like Susanna Kwan’s character in HOG who can arouse viewers’ intense emotions. (rhetoric rant on: How on earth did Susanna snag the most favorite female tv character award is still beyond me. A villainess - most favorite? Come on! rhetoric rant off. )

As such, Steven had his job cut out for him to not bore his audience with yet another portrayal of a good man genre. In addition, Steven also had the challenge on how to make a perfect character believable when in fact none can be found in real life. Like Fat Boss’ unreserved grading of Ah On on perfection: 100% as son, 100% as husband, & 100% as brother. It brings to mind the good son in The Prodigal Son parable in the bible whose goodness was so taken for granted that he was easily overlooked, if not slighted. Just like those copious remarks on Steven’s performance, “Steven? He’s good as usual." And left it at that. “Good as usual”, if a bit terse bordering on apathy, I guess is at least a kind of recognition, if not praise for his high acting standard. For me, Steven's performance never disappoints but in AJCL's last 2 episodes he was brilliant because finally he was given the chance to fully fledge out his acting talent.

Needless to say, I’ve enjoyed every moment of his screen time especially his heart wrenching scenes in the last few episodes. Thank goodness for a happy ending.

Rambling 2: A Journey Called Life

Posted 27 April 2008 - 11:05 PM

Initially, I had reservations about AJCL being a good series mainly because of its female cast, and Kent being an unknown actor to me. But now I love this series, a true keeper for my TVB series collection.

Its very title, A Journey called Life, sounds ponderous if not a little grandstanding, almost religious-like - a title more appropriate for a bible study group or a self-awareness group discussion than for tv entertainmet. Its Chinese title is even worse, so cliché, so uninspired.

AJCL indeed constitutes the theme of this series, but as a title it is far too broad and way too impersonal to reflect its very touching and intimate story. Conversely, the theme song, A Little Story, brilliantly captured the heart of the story; a story that is indeed little in the scheme of things but monumental to the cast of characters involved. Surprisingly, the series turns out to be both entertaining and thought provoking; a very rare combination in a low-budget tv series. Rarer still are its well-written script, its attention to character development and interactions, and last but not least, its marvelous cast.

Understand that first and foremost, AJCL was written to entertain, but if at the same time, the audience got more out of it than entertainment, then so much the better. What I like most about this series is how the series incorporated morality, society ills, and tragedy into a heartwarming and delightful series without resorting to pompous moralization.

Unlike most TV series which are plot driven, AJCL is character driven. The main characters are meticulously written with their own distinctive personalities & idiosyncrasies, ambitions & desires, morals and values. Even the two Kam Sek employees’ characterization was well sketched out. Why did the death scenes of the characters so heart wrenching to watch? Because the characters touched us, the audience. And when an audience is touched by the characters, the series becomes memorable, as AJCL is to me.

AJCL: Death's Outreach! (part 1)

epi 19
How does one pick up the thread of normal life when one’s world is shattered? Where to start, how to start? A vacation? But how does one get away from one’s thoughts of what could have been; Hoi Yin, a blessing so unexpectedly giveth that they named her Angel, and in a blink of an eye, so capriciously taketh away. How?

Diapers, milk formulae, crib, and musical mobile; all things of hope of what to come, now reminder of what they have lost: the baby that will never grow up to look like the computer image generated from her parents' blended looks. The first thing Ah On did upon stepping into the bedroom was kissed the baby image; so tenderly, so sadly. He is composed now, tearless; but his posture bespeaks his fatigue. He chatted ‘normally’ with his mother about the baby, even managed a smile; his abnormal calm alarms her. She would much rather have him railing against fate, against anything but be so..composed.

In a darkened room, an unshaven Ah On is chiseling an angel for his baby. Background music plays mournfully. His kisses the board, inside him lies an empty yearning for his little girl, lost. A forlorn loneliness envelops him as he thought of what could have been. His eyes, brimming with tears that refuse to fall.

part 2 on Sum's death 
when words just got in the way
from despair to recovery

From despair to recovery. Sometimes a miracle is needed.

Sum, get up!
Frightened eyes! Distraught!

I..I miss her, I miss BB. I know, we all miss them, but you must hang on, understand.

Yes, On, miracles can happen.

When words just get in the way, pictures can speak volumes.

Posted 25 April 2008 - 11:06 PM

A father's sorrow: Farewell, Hoi Yin, sweet daughter of mine, farewell.

Life's too unpredictable. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Stillborn birthing Scene in AJCL

The Birthing Scene

Steven has always impressed me with his crying performances. I thought his crying performance in this epi birthing scene was superb as was Linda’s. To better appreciate Ah On’s emotions here, the kind of person Ah On is must be taken into consideration.

Background: the shaping of Ah On’s personality
Ah On faces personal pain and loss like the person he is:
-- A first born who is not only the oldest son but also the only male in a family of females.
---Obviously, because of the incidence of his birth order and gender, much is expected of him. However, the expectation of him is even greater than most, when at the tender age of 16, his father died an untimely death; at which time, he duly became the man of his family.

His early burden has hastened his maturity; over the years, he has learned that tears are not for him. When did Ah On ever cry in the whole series before this? Not even when he was forced to break up with Gaga. His heart might break but his tears will not flow, not even a drop until now.

There’s a Chinese saying that goes like this: A man will weep only when grieving deeply. (lit. translation: A man's tears not easily shed, only because he is not in the pit of sorrows yet.  男儿有泪不轻弹,只是未到伤心处)

Some favorite scenes

Simply one of my favorite scenes. If I didn't love Ah On then, I love him now for his unique..erm..way of showing affection for a girl. lol!

epi 11 more sweet than funny but still funny.
Gaga asks Ah On to get with the time - to use the online dictionary and chuck his dictionary at hand away. The topic segues to learning English. Ah On says he knows some English and proceeds to show off his grasp of it. He says ........and then unexpectedly says: You're so stupid! to Gaga. And of course Gaga will have none of that from him and so they wrestle each other on sofa. When the unexpected bodily contact with Gaga made Ah On's heart go thump thump, Ah On knows he has fallen for Gaga, despite himself.

And of course, nothing can escape a loving mother's eyes. She initiated a heart to heart talk with Ah On about his feelings for Gaga, and encourages him to pursue her. Haha! A 33 year-old man still blushes at the mention of the girl he loves. This kind of men still exist in this century??

And later Ah On did try to express his feelings to Gaga, but deliberately or unknowingly, the latter forestalled his attempts by declaring him her big brother. Poor Ah On was crushed.

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A Journey Called Life

Eta:  Before AJCL, I was like oh no not with Linda again; that girl can't act. I had watched her in VOH2 & Always Ready (didn't know it was her first 2 roles and thought her performances were atrociously stiff and unnatural, and her shrill voice did not help either) and I fast forwarded her and Raymond scenes in HOG because I found them so boring. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how well she did in AJCL, and her chemistry with Steven was excellent. Their birthing scene in AJCL is a classic for me.  AF 79

asianfanatics. 762 

Posted 28 April 2008 - 11:47 AM

I first saw Linda in VOH2 and to not mince words, she was terrible, so terrible that to date VOH2 is among my least favorite Steven's series, (In the Realm of Success being the least).  Her publicly acclaimed performance in HOG did not change my mind on her acting ability.  But, she sure did with her performance in AJCL.

That being said, this series is definitely scripted to make Linda's character shine, starting with the character role to scenes specifically to showcase her acting ability – reminiscent of Bernice’s case in Steps. Happy to note that both ladies rose up to the challenge. Bravo!

Undoubtedly, Gaga  is the central figure in the storyline, a catalyst; while other characters including Ah On, Hana, and Vicky are written as foils to accentuate her character. Whereas Steven had to share the male lead limelight with Kent’s character, Linda totally hogged the female lead limelight all to herself. Although Hana did unexpectedly steal some of her limelight with her surprisingly brilliant performance of a wayward girl.

Using the series theme on the journey of life; the series starts with Gaga’s journey colliding with Ah On's on a crossroad. At that point in time, Gaga and her best friend, Hana, were careening down an off beaten path with all its unexpected turns and twists. Conversely, Ah On’s road has always been bright and straight, therefore less eventful or exciting, as such Ah On comes across a bland character. At the crossroad, Gaga chooses to get on board the straight road with Ah On. Hana chooses to stay put, all the way to a self-destructive, tragic ending. Vicky (Fala) traveled the same straight road with Ah On up until she chooses to get off on a turn in search of glory, which ultimately leads to tragedy.

Of the ladies, only Gaga is saved because of her choice to walk away from a crooked road onto the straight. Traveling alongside her is Ah On, the ever loving, ever loyal good Samaritan/life companion, and her new found travel companions.

I don’t know how a real life Mongkok girl behaves, but to me, Linda’s performance as one seemed a bit forced, a bit unnatural; like she’s putting on an act rather than becoming the character. I found Elaine’s wet girl portrayal to be more natural and believable. Still that’s not taking away Linda’s great effort. Her crying scenes were well done, and her birth scene was phenomenal.

However, I found her transition from a social outcast to a good citizen a bit too smooth and too swift; although the scenes where Ah On reminds her to sit with her legs close and to mind her language were sweet. I guess Ah On just brings out the best in her; that a little kindness could do that to a love - starved person.  (Just like Steven brought out the best from Linda's acting skill.)

Linda has a sweet smile but when not smiling she usually has this pinched, closed look on her face, making her look uptight and stiff. This is very noticeable in VOH2 and HOG but not in this series. And oh yeah, she looks pretty hot in tank tops and those tight shorts, especially with those long legs of hers.

Eta: Like Ah On, I give Linda's performance in AJCL a thumb's up. My other thumb's up is for Ah On. Good job, both of them.

______________________________
The character of Ah On

Ah On's typical nice boy is very different from others like Ah Hing who is nice but has a rather dull personality who is easily bullied. What I like most, well, actually quite a lot about Ah On is that he is a mature man who possess self-confidence, self-esteem (aside from that lapse of being a faint heart in pursuing a fair lady..I forgive him. lol!) He is very comfortable in his own skin and has strong values and principle, not a man who would be easily swayed by outside influence. Besides he is quick in most things like: a quick learner, quick on his feet, and quick witted.

Ah On vs Gaga
Despite their different personalities, Ah On and Gaga got on like a house on fire especially when they ganged up to tease Fat Boss, earlier on his secret (since exposed) admirer, now persuading him to wear the garish boxer shorts they bought him.

Ah On brings stability to Gaga whose life has been anything but stable, whereas, Gaga brings color and excitement to Ah On's life, which until now was quite staid and filled with responsibility. And Fat Boss is their father figure, more friend than boss.

I like this trio's chemistry. In fact, the chemistry of the cast is pretty good. Linda still overacted but not too bad, overall. And Elaine was good as the pill popping, bimbo friend -- she is just a train wreck waiting to happen right in front of your face...sad to watch...what a waste. Elaine's Hana is definitely portrayed as a foil to Linda's Gaga. One can't help but root for Gaga to choose the right path in life, with the help of good people like Fat Boss and Ah On.