These Little Corners

29 Aug 2018 | Ashley The darkest time of human existence is probably when we decided to kill and torture one another for glory, wealth and power, which in a sense are values humanly constructed to be "important", more so than benevolence, love and acceptance. When it comes to the Second World War, many territories fell under foreign totalitarian control, Hong Kong was no exception. I feel, as a young local Hong Konger, that this is a piece of history that we do not talk about often enough. However, this one feature film where I participated in, called "Christmas at the Royal Hotel" (2018), switched it up, and told a heart-wrenching story based on the fall of Hong Kong on 1941 Christmas Day to Japanese occupation. Image: film still from Christmas at the Royal Hotel (2018) With the film's limited budget, American director Craig McCourry has achieved something surprisingly promising. While the audience should not expect any large-scale battle scenes or...

8 Aug 2018 | Ashley There are only a few movies that can keep my mother awake, and this is one of them. She exclaimed right after the session telling me how amazing it was that her eyelids did not put her to sleep. I have to agree, that the film did a pretty good job attracting consistent attention from a local Hong Kong mother by its very realistic portrayal of a heartwarming mother-son relationship and the familiar setting of Hong Kong's most authentic residential areas. "Tomorrow Is Another Day" (2017) (original Chinese title:《黃金花》) is a Hong Kong film released last year. Tracing the protagonist, Mrs. Wong, we get a dramatic glimpse into the almost broken family of an autistic grown-up child. The film opens with the award-winning lead actress, Teresa Mo Shun-kwan who plays Mrs. Wong, looking into the camera, as if she is doing an interview with the person behind the camera. She talks about her life being occupied by her one son and how her favourite moment with hi...