7.5/10 for a somewhat stereotypical scenario, but actors and filmography are perfect.
As a person who have worked in China and with the Chinese people and have seen the Chinese society in mainland China and the Chinese society in Taiwan, I'm thinking that this movie was supposed to have been made with the intention to be a social commentary and a testament to the "never give up" spirit of ...something.
That might have worked mid-1990ies. In 2020 this looks as a straight indictment of not only Hong Kong itself, but of the modern capitalist system as a whole, and in addition to that - shows why exactly Hong Kong should not be independent and that Hongkongers have only one freedom under the "Two systems" part of "one country, two systems" - that is - the freedom to die of abject poverty while being literally (and sexually) exploited- which - is strange, especially coming out of Hong Kong, don't you think?
In addition to that - the ending song kinda puts the nail in the coffin of the "Hong Kong dream" as a subset of the "American dream", and generally - to the whole concept.
Knowing in 2020 that basically all the real and imaginary achievements of the supreme "capitalist" country of the US are based off rich and intelligent foreigners (that includes my friends and acquaintances) bringing their money and their ideas to the US, locking themselves up in gated communities (that includes my friends and acquaintances, again) and living in a society within a society, while the American White and Black natives are left to linger in darkness poverty and sickness, this movie basically shows that for ordinary Hong Kongers homelessness, unforgiving exploitation and death is only one unpaid rent away.
What's worse - and that's where the "two systems" come into play - Mama, Junkie and even the functional family of the Teen aren't even considering the possibility that they might move to the mainland, and they will be in every single way better off living in the mainland under the "unfree" system as they're dying under the "free" system. That makes the audience think that the characters, and by extension - real Hong Kongers are stupid... (which might not be far from truth?)
I couldn't help to slap myself while watching this movie because of the astonishing behavior of its rational protagonists (everyone but the Firefighter guy). Even the well-off characters are pathetic...
Oh mai gad, really - what was the intention here? A "clueless" person wants to know.
As a person who have worked in China and with the Chinese people and have seen the Chinese society in mainland China and the Chinese society in Taiwan, I'm thinking that this movie was supposed to have been made with the intention to be a social commentary and a testament to the "never give up" spirit of ...something.
That might have worked mid-1990ies. In 2020 this looks as a straight indictment of not only Hong Kong itself, but of the modern capitalist system as a whole, and in addition to that - shows why exactly Hong Kong should not be independent and that Hongkongers have only one freedom under the "Two systems" part of "one country, two systems" - that is - the freedom to die of abject poverty while being literally (and sexually) exploited- which - is strange, especially coming out of Hong Kong, don't you think?
In addition to that - the ending song kinda puts the nail in the coffin of the "Hong Kong dream" as a subset of the "American dream", and generally - to the whole concept.
Knowing in 2020 that basically all the real and imaginary achievements of the supreme "capitalist" country of the US are based off rich and intelligent foreigners (that includes my friends and acquaintances) bringing their money and their ideas to the US, locking themselves up in gated communities (that includes my friends and acquaintances, again) and living in a society within a society, while the American White and Black natives are left to linger in darkness poverty and sickness, this movie basically shows that for ordinary Hong Kongers homelessness, unforgiving exploitation and death is only one unpaid rent away.
What's worse - and that's where the "two systems" come into play - Mama, Junkie and even the functional family of the Teen aren't even considering the possibility that they might move to the mainland, and they will be in every single way better off living in the mainland under the "unfree" system as they're dying under the "free" system. That makes the audience think that the characters, and by extension - real Hong Kongers are stupid... (which might not be far from truth?)
I couldn't help to slap myself while watching this movie because of the astonishing behavior of its rational protagonists (everyone but the Firefighter guy). Even the well-off characters are pathetic...
Oh mai gad, really - what was the intention here? A "clueless" person wants to know.