A poster of “Music and Life.”

Actors of “Music and Life” at a shooting site for the movie. File photos

Award-winning director Cheung King-wai talks about his documentary “Music and Life”that exposes the inner mind of a child prodigy.

Helen Deng

Movie director Cheung King-wai talks about his documentary "Music and Life" that exposes the inner mind of a child prodigy.

Music is supposedly a way of bringing pleasure to the musician and the audience. But, in a society with fierce competition music is sometimes regarded as a convenient path to fame, honor and money.

In Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, where parents invest heavily in their children's future, many children are forced to learn music. Beyond the pragmatism, the true significance of music is often ignored.

Hong Kong director Cheung King-wai's documentary "Music and Life" highlights the struggle of a child prodigy in seeking the meaning of music and life.

Wong Ka-jeng was born in a middle class family in Hong Kong where his father is a doctor. He began learning the piano at the age of 6. He won a prize at the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival at the age of 11 and then went to the Czech Republic to play Beethoven's Concerto for piano No. 1 with a local professional orchestra.

However, he began to wonder about his life and questioned why he had to play the piano. Was there only music in life?

For Wong, the meaning of music was never about winning a competition. That was why he deliberately chose a piece that went beyond the expiration time for his school orchestra at a competition. The band won despite playing beyond the time limit. But when his friends celebrated the victory, Wong was not carried away. He was still thinking about the meaning of life and music.

Looking from the outside Wong might have appeared to be a successful child. But he was not happy. He does not get along with his brother and his friends. He does not like to take part in competitions, but his father forces him. He wants to be "human" but his father only talks about "music and football" at the dining table. His relationship with his father deteriorated after he and his mother divorced.

Through candid interviews and beautiful cinematography, Cheung's film takes us into the inner world of a child musician who wants to concentrate on his music but has to bow to outside pressures, wants perfection in life but has to face family problems.

To a large extent Wong's experience resembles that of the director himself. Cheung was a musician before he became a director. He began learning the cello at the age of 11, with dreams of becoming an established musician like Ma yo-yo. He had to get up at 5 a.m. and go to Guangzhou to learn from a teacher there every weekend.

After graduating from the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Cheung became the assistant principal cellist with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. At 24, he was enrolled by the City University of New York for an MA in music. However, he decided to give up music after meeting his future wife, a violinist whose talent far surpassed his, he said. Then he turned to film, believing film-making was "easier." "I saw myself in Wong," said Cheung.

Because of his own experience, Cheung understands children who are studying music.

"Music is a cruel profession," he said.

To become a good classical musician, one has to master the basics by the age of 10, when one still knows nothing about perseverance and sacrifice, he said.

"Somebody in the family has to force him," said Cheung, adding that he thought Wong's criticism of his father was unfair.

But Cheung likes Wong and said the boy's rebellious spirit was exactly why he chose him for his documentary.

"I filmed nearly 10 child musicians in 2002, including KJ and another child prodigy, who is already very famous. The reason I chose KJ instead of anther child is that the child was too docile -- he follows his parents' orders without question and spends all his time practicing," he said.

So, has music enriched, or impoverished Wong's life? Should parents treat their children like Wong's father did?

Cheung could not give a definite answer. "It's hard to say. The fact that you like a thing does not mean you can bear doing it day after day," he said.

In his director's statement, Cheung said: "Every one has his difficulties to face. It is difficult to be a person; difficult to live among the general public; and even more difficult to be a genius who stands out in society."

For Wong, the struggle continues and the pursuit of the meaning of music. "Whether he can find the answer or not is not important. What matters is the process," said Cheung.

About Cheung King-wai:

Born in Hong Kong, Cheung, 40, studied cello when he was young. He went to U.S. to study music and other subjects at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He graduated with a degree in film production and a minor in philosophy. His works have won prizes at multiple international film festivals. "God's Apple," his first feature-length script, won Excellent Prize in the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan Myth Script Creation Contest 2001, while his second, "The Way We Are", was awarded the Best Story Prize at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum 2005. A film based on this script, "Night and Fog", won several awards at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival. His documentary "All's Right with the World," about Hong Kong slum life, was shown at the 2008 Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Cheung is now working on a documentary about new mainland immigrants in Hong Kong. The film is due out at the end of the year.