Movie Review

The movie, released in 1995, Hong Kong, starts off with the main character, a mother, going about her daily routine. Humour is successfully injected into the movie, especially where she is at the market and tricks the fish monger into thinking that a fish is dead by slapping it unconscious, thus buying it for a lower price. This illustrates her witty and street-smart character, fit for her role in the family.   She is in charge of grocery shopping, cooking, taking care of the family, including her husband, son and father. On top of that, she is a sales manager in a toilet roll distribution company. Her husband, though loving and kind, does not display the energy to take care of the family, leaving the job to her. Her son, a young adult, is able to help out, though occasionally interested in other matters such as love.
Her father, after exhibiting abnormal behaviour, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Being only able to remember events a long time ago, he is unable to recognise any of his family, except the mother. As he used to work as an air pilot during the Japanese occupation, he imagines himself back in the past, resulting in he not knowing that his actions are in fact reality. For example, he calls other people “enemies” and even went “parachuting”, where he jumped off the building while holding onto an umbrella. Thankfully, he landed in a truck of hay.
As the family has to work, they are unable to take care of him, thus sending him to a day care centre for the elderly. This very much portrays today’s society, where families, not having the capability to take care of their mentally-ill elderly relatives, send them to homes. Even though this lifts the burden off their shoulders, it is unacceptable as the elderly may not receive the love and support they need from their family. It is hard enough adapting to a new environment for normal people, for the mentally-ill, it is even harder. In some scenarios, families may not want to look after their mentally-ill...