Benson Ng Ka Wai

People may say the wedding vow of having and holding each other “in sickness and in health”, but commitment is often tested. Emma takes her husband Ivan who is suffering from brain disorder to a distant beachside. Under the facade of camping, she contemplates something sinister, but is overwhelmed by memories of the husband before the illness kicked in, the sanctity of life, and the merits of mercy killing. Torn by emotions, she doubts her own intention.

There are two kinds of loneliness: The sense of isolation in society which people experience from time to time, and the loneliness in searching for the meaning of life. A young man and an old man suffer the same pangs of emotions not uncommon in the city. They live across the corridor as neighbours but remain strangers, facing the absurdity of life with no means to escape. The vibrant city continues day and night, fuelled by the nameless people living within.

Family pains and abdominal cramps—anyone can allow their body to endure the turbulent intrusion alone. After living in Norway for years, Ling brings her foreign boyfriend home to Hong Kong. The family reunion is seemingly harmonious yet unspoken rifts and resentment will be revealed through family therapy. Will it end in reconciliation or a split-up? Bobby YU Shuk-pui, winner of Best Director at the 17th Fresh Wave, brings her family’s story to the silver screen. With real-life family members appearing on screen, the film examines intergenerational conflict through the lens of the young. With scenes of conversational therapy shot like direct cinema and shifting between fiction and reality through switching aspect ratios, the film faithfully and naturally presents the emotional vortex among family members.

Three phone calls and three long shots connecting three seemingly unrelated characters, probing into the untold hardship of ordinary hustlers in the world’s most expensive city, Hong Kong, as her charm slowly fades.