Film: The Sunny Side of the Street

Another Hong Kong film in a series shown at the little Odeon. I’m watching as many as they choose to screen whatever the subject matter. 

This time we have two waring people with one thing in common; both escaped to Hong Kong for a better life. Taxi driver Yat came from China and lawyer Ahmed, escaped from Pakistan when his family were threatened. His 10-year-old son, Hassan was born in Hong Kong. Ahmed wanted to go to Canada and hasn’t been able to get out after all this time - still not allowed to work - just like in the UK. Imagine having all of those qualifications and not being able to use them for over a decade.

Ahmad is killed in a car crash and afterwards, Hassan felt compelled to join a criminal refugee gang leaving his pregnant mother heartbroken. We watch the further bad treatment of refugees when she receives zero sympathy from medical staff when she calmly enquires about abortion after acknowledging her husband’s untimely death.

Yat is a chain-smoking heavy drinker who seems to have little to live for. His son is in the (somewhat corrupt) police force and inevitably, Hassan is going to get acquainted with him unless he intervenes. But why would he?

I guess the title refers to the street that they have yet to find because this film is all sad except for the archetypal unlikely relationship formed by the taxi driver and Hassan. And the picture I’ve used is far from what most of the film is about.

7/10