3/5 stars
It is all doom and gloom for the first-time mother at the heart of Montages of a Modern Motherhood, a meticulously observed and wonderfully acted drama but one that may not connect with a wider audience because of its unusual, and almost perverse, resolve to paint new parenthood as a completely joyless experience.
It marks the much anticipated return of writer-director Oliver Chan Siu-kuen, whose 2019 hit Still Human is regarded by many as one of the best first features by a Hong Kong filmmaker in the past decade. Yet the new film could not be more different in tone than her heartwarming debut.
Chan, who has a five-year-old son herself, has expressed the hope that viewers will develop a better understanding of the postnatal struggles of women through her film. Ironically, Montages of a Modern Motherhood does work much better as a cautionary tale than an intimate portrait of three-dimensional characters.
Guiding us through the ordeal is Hedwig Tam Sin-yin, the elegant actress who has taken her time to land a signature role since her breakout film Weeds on Fire (2016).