Mad World(一念無明) Chinese Film Thoughts(2017)

Love the packaging

    Mad World is a film that I decided to watch after checking out the trailer on Youtube. The film seemed very arthouse(ish) which makes sense since this film was Wong Chun's directorial debut. Shawn Yue, Eric Tsang, Elaine Jin, and Charmaine Fong make up the cast for the emotional film. I hadn't watched Shawn in a film in a long time so this was a good opportunity to be reacquainted with his acting.


   A man's son was released from the hospital after being admitted for a year as a bipolar patient. The man must watch over his son even though they have a rocky relationship. The mother and wife's memory also looms over the two men's heads.

    Mad World is an experience through the eyes of someone who is bipolar. The plot takes on a huge exposure of realism from the beginning of the film to the film's conclusion. Bipolar disorder can be an illness that can be controlled but it depends on the situations and environment that the patient is in. A patient similar to this being thrust back into the world makes up most of the plot. He is trying to regain what was lost before he was hospitalized. The problems come up when the world he left doesn't want to have to do with him. To me, The title Mad World is a play on words to the actual meaning of the film. People suffering with Bipolar disorder are seen as "crazy or mad" to people from the outside looking in. None ever takes the time to understand the triggers of the disorder. I don't think that the plot develops in a way that only points the finger at the patient. Fingers get pointed at the people around the patient as well, making Mad World one of the best films that contains a hidden message. You began asking yourself, "what is the Mad World?" and why.  An easy analysis would lead you to the characters with bipolar disorder to be the quote on quote mad ones. However, thats not the only case here. People who are quick to turn their backs on the people with Bipolar disorder are also apart of this "Mad World". It can be wrong to think the worse of a person just because they're different from you. The plot then uses emotional turmoil to leave the answer in the dark of the main character's fits. I had a hard time telling weather he was actually have bipolar episodes or if those fits where actually him expressing how he felt in the moment. Normal people can act the same way he acted without being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Problems I had with Mad World dealt with the film not having a satisfying ending. I wanted there to be a breaking point that sealed the deal for the film. Instead the film headed for a perseverance type of ending which I guess was the most happiest in the long run. All events leading up the ending keep viewers tightly engaged though.

    Elaine Jin as Shawn Yue's character's mother stole the whole spotlight off of Shawn Yue. She wasn't even in the film that much but when she was on screen, he performance was just magic. Her character was the foundation of the creation of the other two characters. She is the reason both characters act the way that they do around each other and out in the world. Shawn Yue still has acting chops as the son who thought that he might have been seeing his future self in his mother. He really embodies his character as a young man who could have bipolar disorder. Then again, he could just have been an emotional wreck after the experiences he had with his mother. You feel bad watching him instead of afraid of him. His mother was the scary one. Elaine Bipolar disorder made her violent at the drop of a hat. She could have just been the sweetest person a few minutes before. Eric Tsang plays the father that has to deal with the aftermath of all the events that had happened. His character has no idea what he's doing but he tries to do all he can for his son. The scenes Shawn Yue shares with both characters are what you call real acting for the people that where looking for good films outside of the same old dry martial arts movies. These scenes show actors and actress that fall deep into the being of their characters then work off of each other's chemistries. Playing characters that have mental problems takes research too. Its very easy for a performance like these to come off cheesy if the right care isn't taken in preparing for the role.

   Shots take in all the surround scenery. In fact, film is all about showing the places around the characters in different shots. I felt like the life outside of the hospital was shown in a captive sort of way for Shawn Yu's character. Some shots would show him from up above as he lay on the shower floor, including the shots of his small cramped room shown from different angles to remind viewers how small that room truly was. You will witness the worse living conditions possible in many shots, to be honest.

   There's many great things that could be said about Mad World. I honestly see the reason why the cast got so many award nominations. They acted their asses off until the literally had no asses.[INSERT ME LAUGHING.] My biggest problem was not being super satisfied with the ending but I would still recommend Mad World to lovers of cinema. Nope, Not even only East Asian cinema this time. I believe all the cinema lovers would enjoy Mad World completely.