Happiness (2016 film)

Happiness (Chinese: 幸運是我; pinyin: xìngyùn shì wǒ; Jyutping: hang6 wan6 si6 ngo5; lit.: 'Lucky is me') is a 2016 Hong Kong drama film directed and written by Andy Lo. Centred around the story of a cognitive disorder patient, the film stars Kara Wai, Carlos Chan and Cya Liu. It was released on 8 September 2016.

Happiness
Film poster
幸運是我
Directed byAndy Lo
Produced byYu Wai-kwok
Catherine Kwan
Written byAndy Lo
Starring
Music byYusuke Hatano
Distributed byEmperor Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 26 August 2016 (2016-08-26) (China)
  • 8 September 2016 (2016-09-08) (Hong Kong)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese

Plot

After the death of his mother, Chan Kai-yuk (Carlos Chan) moves from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and attempts to reunite with his father (Chin Siu-ho) who has abandoned them and started a new marriage already. Sacked from a restaurant, Chan cannot afford the housing rental fee and is forced to leave. While sleeping on the street, he is helped by Kam (Louis Cheung) who is a chef at Beloved Community Centre, which is dedicated to providing support for the needy in the area. Although he is offered a job at the centre, he cannot accept it unless he has a proof of address. He then turns to seek help from Tse Yuen-fan (Kara Wai) who he randomly encountered and helped at a wet market previously.

Tse is a middle-aged childless ex-singer who lives by herself after her only tenant moved out. Initially suspicious of Chan, she later accepts him to be her new tenant after he gives her a dozen of eggs as present. She lives a simple and routine lifestyle and demands that Chan strictly follow her timetable at the living room. Now with a residential address, Chan starts to work at Beloved, where he is introduced to Xiaoyue (Cya Liu), a social work intern student from Guangzhou, and Fong (Yan Ng), a social worker. Assigned to a food sharing scheme, Chan co-operates with Xiaoyue whom he has a crush on but knows about her relationship later.

Making fun and then feeling frustrated with Tse's poor memory, Chan takes her to Beloved, where Fong refers her to a Mini–Mental State Examination. She receives lower-than standard points and is diagnosed with mild cognitive disorder. He is at first indifferent to the result but starts to realise the seriousness when she loses her direction en route home. Fear that he will have to take on the responsibility of taking care of her when her condition deteriorates, he flees the flat without informing her. However, after seeing her searching for him recklessly in nearby areas, he remembers his own late mother and therefore returns, against his closest friend Fat's (James Ng) advice. Under his monitoring, she begins medication that aims to slower the deterioration of her cognitive condition.

With Fat's assistance, Chan is able to locate his father along with his new family. He then secretly takes his step younger brother to an indoor playground and treats him with ice-cream. Nevertheless, he is unaware of his brother's peanut allergy, which causes the boy to develop acute symptoms. When taking him to the hospital, Chan is beaten his angry father, who is ordered by his new wife to cut any connections with him. When Chan tearfully agrees not to disturb his father's life again, he is comforted by Tse and Xiaoyue. There, Tse asks Chan to call her mother.

Gradually realising her worsening condition, Tse makes a will to name Chan the inheritor of all her properties, including the flat she inherited from her former boss, on the condition that he will take care of her in the capacity of her son. Living like a family, Tse is indulged in her past hobby of drawing and Chan starts his new job at a restaurant. At a visit to Beloved, he is told that Xiaoyue has already returned to Guangzhou. Her leaving note reveals that she has been admiring his love towards his terminally ill mother since they met before at a Guangzhou hospital, although he did not recognise her. Although her relationship with her boyfriend has failed in the end, she treasures the interpersonal bondings in Hong Kong, especially that between Chan and Tse.

Cast
Wai's mother is an Alzheimer disease patient and some of her experiences are adapted in the film. She feels regret for failing to notice and understand her mother's symptoms and treating her badly; therefore she views her participation in the film as a remedy and apology to her mother. She was awarded the Asian CineVision (ACV) 2016 Asian Media Humanitarian Award in New York on 19 July 2016 for her efforts in promoting elderly care and raising public awareness of it.[1][2]

Music

The theme Song "Lucky is me" (Chinese: 幸運是我; Jyutping: hang3 wan6 si6 ngo5), sung by Mag Lam, is a remake from the 1983 Cantopop song originally sung by Deanie Ip.

Awards
Award / Film Festival Category Winner/Nominee Result
7th Golden Lotus Awards Best Picture Nominated
Best Actress Kara Wai Won
Best Supporting Actor Carlos Chan Won
Best Writing Andy Lo Nominated
36th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actress Kara Wai Won
Best New Performer James Ng Nominated
Best Original Film Song Yusuke Hatano ("Better Tomorrow") Nominated
Best New Director Andy Lo Nominated
17th Chinese Film Media Awards[3]Best ActressKara HuiNominated
Best New DirectorAndy LoNominated
24th Beijing College Student Film FestivalBest ScreenplayNominated
Best ActressKara WaiNominated
gollark: That sounds hilariously slow.
gollark: Fortunately I am immune to the manual breathing thing due to repeated exposure.
gollark: It probably runs both ways.
gollark: There is, IIRC, empirical evidence that they increase "openness to experience" a little.
gollark: No, the solution is solar panel transport microblimps.

References
  1. "【紐約直擊】惠英紅老妝素顏扮痴呆　向9旬老母贖罪". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 20 July 2016.
  2. "New York hosts preview screening of "Happiness" to honour Kara Wai (with photos)". Government of Hong Kong. 20 July 2016.
  3. "第17届华语电影传媒盛典公布提名名单". Mtime (in Chinese). August 29, 2017. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
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