Yangzi’s Confusion

To a young girl, your own family can sometimes be as alien as strangers, in Jue Li’s domestic drama.

“I am not a responsible mother”

Mothers, on a pretty global scale, are often judged through some pretty harsh lenses. Being the bearer of their children, and those who feed them in their first months, a mother’s bond with her child is seen as sacred and unbreakable – and any deviation from the norm is often shown as villainous or careless. Fathers get a much easier time; when they abandon their children, it’s almost OK. When a mother does, she’s seen as a monster. 

This is one of the struggles seen in Yangzi’s Confusion, in which a girl tries to come to terms with her mother’s relationship to her. Meihui (Xiaolei Huang) is the owner of a fabric store, and sees herself as pretty successful in her life. Her biggest regret comes in the way she’s treated her daughter Yangzi (Yayun Zheng), whom she abandoned almost a decade back. Yangzi lives with her father (Tang Zeng), stepmother and half-brother, and resents her mother for barely being in her life. They see each other on occasion, but those times are mired with ill feelings. 

One day Yangzi decides to steal her mother’s years-old diary, one that chronicled Meihui’s meeting with her future ex-husband Gao Wen, her pregnancy and ultimately her choice to leave her daughter behind. I can’t say for certain, but there’s a personal touch to Jue Li’s drama that makes me think there might be elements of her own life there, giving the film some verisimilitude other stories like it lack. I could be entirely wrong, of course, but if I am, then I’m impressed at the truth in Li’s storytelling.

As a film about truth, Yangzi’s Confusion doesn’t need big dramatic moments. Yangzi gets one, finally allowing herself to let loose on a mother she doesn’t believe cares for her at all. It’s a strong scene made even better thanks to some really strong performances from its two leads. Yayun Zheng plays her role really well, keeping quiet for the most part and only expressing herself when necessary and provides a great foil for Huang’s Meihui, whose struggles are made evident without her having to even say a word. 

A gripe I have is that the conceit of the diary giving Yangzi an insight into her mother is, well, fine, pretty standard stuff but Meihui’s single diary seems to detail events between 2005 and 2013 – maybe even beyond. Which means either she’s only writing core, plot-relevant entries or she just has the smallest handwriting and absolute dedication to the format. Add to that Yangzi’s seemingly random choice of passages to read – picked for how they impact the story in the moment – and it means that the film’s central concept takes you out of the story rather than pull you deeper. 

Maybe I’m being thick but it took me the absolute longest time to understand what was happening, or rather what the family dynamics were. Once it’s all established, the story can get going properly and really dig into the interpersonal relationships that make it so appealing. Like I said, I’ve never experienced that mother-daughter relationship, but the fundamental honesty of Yangzi’s Confusion makes it a story that I think many people can relate to, even if it’s one they might not have experienced first-hand. I think anyone who’s had parental trouble or felt estranged from their family will find something to connect with. And if you abandoned your kid – what are you waiting for? Go call them.

Verdict: Yangzi’s Confusion is a low-key, but effective drama filled with a strong theme and some subtle, powerful performances.

Yangzi’s Confusion is screening as part of theWomen Hold Up Half the Sky: Mint on Tour festival! Check it out here

Overall entertainment: 8/10
Violence: 0/10
Sex: 0/10
Minute-long quiet scenes: 10/10
Phones: There’s something about the sound design in this film that made me think my phone was going off every time one did in the film
Diaries: Famously boring to keep
Fathers: Pretty chill, compared to those crazy mums, huh

Director: Jue Li
Writer: Jue Li