The Way We Are

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Movie: The Way We Are
Chinese: 天水围的日与夜 (Tin shui wai dik yat yu ye)
Director: Ann Hui
Writer: Yau-wah Lui
Producer: Jing Wong
Cinematography: Charlie Lam
Premiere: March 27, 2008 (Hong Kong Film Festival)
Release Date: July 17, 2008
Runtime: 90 min.
Language: Cantonese
Country: Hong Kong

Plot

A widowed mother and her teenage son live in a Tin Shui Wai estate. She works in a supermarket, and helps a colleague break into her new job. The boy, average in each and every way, grows into adolescence hesitantly. In passing, we find out that the mother has made big sacrifices to her family. The way we are, the way we live; an ode to the salt of the earth.

Cast

Trailers

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Film Festivals

2009 (22nd) Tokyo International Film Festival - October 17th-25th - Winds of Asia - Middle East * Ann Hui: Now & Then

Comments

Comment #2
HK Neo Reviews Says:
Aug 06 2009 1:09 am

Tagline: An excellent film about the basics of human beings…

Review by Neo: Sometimes, a film does not need to do much, nor does it require something extraordinarily to happen and it can still be a film that can relate, touch and affect one life. While, the usually dependable Ann Hui does not create a masterpiece, but it is probably safe to say that The Way We Are is very much a success story. After the bleakness shown in the city of sadness “Tin Shui Wai” with likes of Besieged City, the little Hong Kong city within borders of the mainland is filled with negative press, distinguishing of hopes and pure darkness. Here, director Hui is smart, by going back to the basics of filming, the very essence of human lives. The method taken is by filming a week or two in life of ordinary people. While it may seems that the film aren’t doing much, not going anywhere, the film still somehow leaves the audience wanting more and leaving the credits with a glimpse of hope within the shambles.

Casting a ballet of untried actors in the likes of Bau Hei-Jing as the happy-go-lucky mother who works hard day and night to supporting her teenage son (Juno Leung Chun Lung) as a duran fruit cutter and packer in the area’s Welcome Supermarket. Life is not easy, in fact, it’s difficult, but yet, Bau remains cheerful, hopeful and most important of all she is content of herself. On the other hand, we have her son, a reclusive young boy who prefers staying at home than going out. Then there are people who they bum into within their lives like the lonely grandmother living close by, or the random relatives who are much better off than they are. Not exactly a movie about the plot line or clever and intriguing premises, rather it is about the little things that happen in our real lives.

What makes the film work is that Ann Hui is very much a director who looks at human emotions, and the very fact that she does not create or fabricate emotions to affect the audience, but rather creates real emotions about the simple aspects of humanity and the happening. The casting of Bau is top notch, as she is natural enough for the audience to relate towards. Her optimistic nature, despite all that she has gone through makes her extremely human and ultimately realistic. Likewise, as her son, Juno Leung steps in with a good debut performance. In no situation does Leung tries to be acting, but instead remains real and without a moment of laughable overacting. Other supporting actors, such as the old granny, repeatedly making the same dish, further emphasis what happens when you get older and basically how people lives.

The Way We Are, is unlikely to splash any fire into Hong Kong cinema and nor does it attempt to. What Ann Hui is trying to show is that people in Tin Shui Wai are basically human and like all humans, we all need to eat, work and survive. There are little moments of happiness, sorrow, boredom, neutral and ultimately it is there basic human feelings that make this film works. Sometimes, criticizing something may well create some controversial, but at the end of the day, it remains rather subjective and opinionated. What Ann Hui is able to do, is at its very best being able to show something that seem more objective and somehow able to make the audience feel as though they are experiencing the experience firsthand. All in all, The Way We Are succeeds by showing the basic needs of humanity and ultimately, it is a day of reflection of our lives … (Neo 2009)

I rate it 9/10
Comment #1
Ki Says:
Dec 13 2008 8:05 pm

“The way We Are” is an understated film that brings to light the lives of “regular folks” and the trials and tribulations they go through. The film is set in Hong Kong’s “Tin Shui Wai” area - an area sometimes dubbed “city of sadness” - but never mentions the area by name, rather places the neighborhood prominently as its backdrop.

“The Way We Are” centers around single mother Kwan, her teenage son Ka On Cheung, and their elderly neighbor Granny. Kwan works at the local grocery store, usually bagging Durian fruits. After the death of her husband she has raised her teenage son Ka On Cheung single handedly. When we are first introduced to Ka-On he appears to be a disenchanted youth on the verge of being labeled a “delinquent,” but as time pases we realize he is one of the more well mannered kids you’ll ever find on film. Meanwhile, their elderly neighbor “Granny” lives her own solitary existence. Through the kindness of Kwan, and the Confucian respect she shows to the elderly, Granny’s life takes on a brighter existence.

The problems that these characters face are the typical dilemmas found in everyday life; from the mundane (what they will eat for lunch) to heavier subjects (death & estrangement in the family). While this might initially seem more suited for a documentary, the power of these vignettes comes not just from the story itself, but its setting. Kwan and Granny both live on a meager means and have apartments some would like liken to closets. Their lives are far from a fairy tale like setting, but they nevertheless find contentment in their lives. While we would most associate this type of setting with crime & misery, “The Way We Are” shows none of that. As someone said long before me, the power of what isn’t said is just as important as what is said.

Surprisingly, “The Way We Are” keeps an upbeat feel for most of its runtime and never veers into heavy melodrama territory. When we are first introduced to the characters and their settings, we automatically assume their lives are filled with sadness and the likelihood of tragedy striking isn’t a question of if, but when. Yet, director Ann Hui opts for none of that. Instead, she creates a quietly moving arthouse film, with none of the pretentiousness commonly found in that genre, to show life as it is for at least some of the Hong Kong regular folks. To better understand the power of “The Way We Are,” make a mental note of your impressions of the opening sequence, then after you’ve finished the movie, go back and re-watch that opening sequence. Amazing how your impressions of that opening sequence has changed!