I watched a loaf of Hong Kong movies recently and this one could not be missed. The story is about a typical Hong Kong family, where the parents and kids did not talk much (which always happen in Chinese society), and the dad went crazy as his wife asked to divorce. Finally the son left the home for 8 years as a punishment to his father. The daughter had been unemployed but just did not family, the father planned to divorce and move to China, the mother is attracted by the man she works with, the death of the uncle but nobody dare to tell the grandma. All people are with secrets and just think others should know. It is a good education as we should always share and do not just think others would know what u think. Although there is not a straight plot, the director is already good to tell the story. Thanks~

I'm quite a fan of Hong Kong cinema so thought this might make a fitting choice for my my first cinema outing of 2023. Sadly, it didn't prove to be a very wise move. Indeed, the writing is pretty much on the wall from the opening scenes that introduce us to a mother "Ling" (Teresa Mo) driving her family to her own mother's house for a special winter solstice dinner. In the car is her husband "Chun" (Tse Kwan-ho), a seemingly unemployed, rather cuckolded man upon whom she bears down relentlessly. Trying to keep the peace is their seventeen year old son "Cheun" (Edan Lui) whilst the daughter "Ki" (Hedwig Tam) tries to keep her head down. The seriously over-scripted, and frankly pretty irritating dialogue continues as this dysfunctional relationship ultimately drives just about everyone away, and leaves the audience wondering why on Earth we would want to watch this observational car-crash of a documentary style drama that is completely devoid of humour or personality. Ordinarily, I moan about the waste of time spent on excessive character development. Well here, there is precisely none! What is the backstory that has led this once loving couple to viscerally detest each other? Do they actually detest each other? Problem is, I didn't really care one way or the other, especially once the timeline is advanced eight years. Now the two children are trying to make their own ways in life, but again not in a especially interesting or engaging fashion, meanwhile poor old granny (Fung So-bo) must sit and listen to all this emotional train-wreckery, bitterness and selfishness whilst trying to come to terms with a tragedy that is completely irreverent to the plot! Might they all reconcile in time for their lavish banquet? I was already eyeing the exit by that point...