The Oscar Hammersteins, Bernie Taupins and Tim Rices of this world would appreciate this endearing Hong Kong film, which focuses on the overlooked figure of the lyric-writer – here, specifically in the Cantopop industry. Norris Wong’s initially light and scampering comedy drama is counterbalanced by a cynicism that warns of the emotional hazards of dreaming big in this ego-crushing melody factory. In the words of the film’s swansong: “Success is great, but no one talks about being frustrated.”
Sze (Chung Suet Ying) is part of a high-school posse of aspiring Cantopop lyric- and songwriters. Insisting that her passion and her work should be the same thing, she is determined to go all the way. Undaunted by her tutor’s warning that “no one makes a living as a lyricist”, she learns the fiddly art of matching the Cantonese tone system to music; after which a breakthrough into the Asian Tin Pan Alley seems imminent when a Taiwanese company takes notice of her work. But the real lesson she must learn is how far to take a masochistic tolerance for disappointment.
Wong applies a journal-style aesthetic here, throwing in cute animations and slapping decals on to live action. This delicate style extends to an intimate awareness of how music opens up internal vistas, with Sze gazing in awe at soundwaves on her laptop, or getting snagged by a song on the radio while out shopping. Just as the lyricist weighs words to sharpen the underpinning melodies to a finer point, Wong homes in on the bittersweet motif that defines this drama: the protagonist’s fear that she might not make it. In a business in which lyrics are secondary, and subject to the arbitrary whims of producers and stars, writing a jingle for a ride-sharing app becomes Sze’s last shot.
With the film trapped almost completely inside Sze’s creative bubble, the surrounding cast – her comic-relief Generation Analogue parents (Eric Kot and Luna Shaw), fickle boyfriend (Yukki Tai), songwriting partner Mak (current Cantopop dreamboat Ansonbean) – don’t register much. But this self-absorption enhances the sentiment, songs flowing seamlessly out of her head on to the soundtrack, making the film as much of an oddly touching contrivance as the typical Cantopop banger.
• The Lyricist Wannabe is in UK cinemas on 15 March.
