Strings of Sorrow

Strings of Sorrow
Macao SAR | 2019 | 99’ | DCP | Colour | Cantonese | Group: B
Director: Oliver Fa

The graceful poise of a string quartet hides a multitude of unrequited desires, secrets and sorrows in Oliver Fa’s second feature which takes Macao’s classical music scene and infuses it with tumultuous melodrama. Each member of the quarter is tortured. ‘First violin’ Sieo struggles with the burden of following in the footsteps of her famous late mother and a love for ‘cello’ Fung (played by Fa himself). Fung is a disciplinarian and taskmaster, but hides a secret love for Sieo that echoes his love for her mother who was his mentor. Fung is also hiding another secret: that he has brain cancer and will soon be unable to play anymore. The hothead of the group is ‘second violin’ Fei who has been harbouring a love for Sieo since they were kids, but cannot accept the fact that she has no interest in him. And Chin-I – ‘viola’ – has a fairly obvious love for Fei, who clearly doesn’t reciprocate. It’s a heady brew of thwarted passions accompanied by some of the greatest musical strains of all time.

– Mike Goodridge

Four string players come together to rehearse for a string quartet concert, but it’s not a smooth ride as each has different backgrounds and motivations and the rehearsals are full of conflict. So how can these four people achieve the harmony and synergy required to create beautiful music? Maybe a surprising quirk of fate will help them unite in time for the concert.

Oliver Fa is a musician and film-maker from Macao who founded and still runs a live music service company targeting events in the region. He made his first short film Silent Note in 2013 and his first feature Against The Wind in 2016. Against The Wind screened in Hong Kong and Macao and was selected by Hong Kong UA Cinema CSR Screening Programme to be available for screening upon request. Strings Of Sorrow is his second feature film.