''I'm Livin' It'' is a 2019 Hong Kong
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by Danny Wong in his directorial debut
[ and starring ]Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
and Miriam Yeung
Miriam Yeung (born 3 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop diva. As of 2020, she has released more than 35 albums and has starred in more than 40 films. In 2012, Yeung won the Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards ...
. The film addresses the issues of rich-poor gap in the Hong Kong society, as well as poverty and homelessness and focuses on McRefugee
''McRefugee'' is a neologism and McWords, McWord referring to those who stay overnight in a 24-hour McDonald's fast food restaurant.
The term was first created in Japanese: . That term had been largely replaced by , literally "net cafe refugee". ...
s. ''I'm Livin' It'' made its world premiere at the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival
The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...
in the Asian Future section on 20 October 2019. The film also closed both the 4th London East Asia Film Festival on 3 November 2019, where Kwok was the subject of the festival's Actor Focus and also winning the Best Actor Award for his performance, and the 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao on 20 December 2019 before it was theatrically released in Hong Kong on 17 September 2020. It was nominated for ten awards at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, winning Best Supporting Actor for Cheung Tat-ming
Cheung Tat-ming () (born 2 July 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, director and writer.
Personal life
Cheung married Ho Nim-chi, a psychiatrist, in September 2001, subsequently announcing their divorce in 2016. They had one son and one daught ...
.
Plot
Bowen Tung (Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
) used to be a financial whiz who has become a McRefugee
''McRefugee'' is a neologism and McWords, McWord referring to those who stay overnight in a 24-hour McDonald's fast food restaurant.
The term was first created in Japanese: . That term had been largely replaced by , literally "net cafe refugee". ...
. He befriends other homeless dwellers, which include Wai-yin (Cya Liu), a mother who becomes indebt from paying off her mother-in-law's debts, Uncle Wait (Alex Man
Alex Man Chi-leung () is a Golden Horse Award-winning Hong Kong actor. Born in Hong Kong to Hakka parents, Alex Man became a television actor for ATV in the 1970s. He joined TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television bro ...
), who is afraid to return home, Sam (Zeno Koo), a teenager who ran away from home, and Jane (Miriam Yeung
Miriam Yeung (born 3 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop diva. As of 2020, she has released more than 35 albums and has starred in more than 40 films. In 2012, Yeung won the Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards ...
), a lounge singer. They all support and help each other to overcome the difficult times of their lives.
Cast
*Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
as Bowen Tung (董浩博), a financial whiz who was imprisoned for defalcation
Defalcation is misappropriation of funds by a person trusted with their charge; also, the act of misappropriation, or an instance thereof. The term is more specifically used by the United States Bankruptcy Code to describe a category of acts that ...
. After his release from prison, he was ashamed to return home and becomes a McRefugee
''McRefugee'' is a neologism and McWords, McWord referring to those who stay overnight in a 24-hour McDonald's fast food restaurant.
The term was first created in Japanese: . That term had been largely replaced by , literally "net cafe refugee". ...
and befriends fellow homeless dwellers that give each help and support.
*Miriam Yeung
Miriam Yeung (born 3 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop diva. As of 2020, she has released more than 35 albums and has starred in more than 40 films. In 2012, Yeung won the Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards ...
as Jane To (杜秋紅), a lounge singer who relocates her career to a Red Envelope Club
A Red Envelope Club () is a form of Cabaret in Taiwan that originated in Taipei in the 1960s as an imitation of Shanghai Cabaret. In these cabarets, female singers sing old Chinese songs from the 1920s to 1950s to mostly older men, many of whom ...
as she ages and has an intimate relationship with Bowen.
*Alex Man
Alex Man Chi-leung () is a Golden Horse Award-winning Hong Kong actor. Born in Hong Kong to Hakka parents, Alex Man became a television actor for ATV in the 1970s. He joined TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television bro ...
as Lo Chun-keung (盧振強), nicknamed Uncle Wait (等伯), a former fireman whose wife threw herself off a building after she was scammed all her life savings. As a result, he develops dementia and is in constant denial of his wife's death and waiting for her return.
*Cheung Tat-ming
Cheung Tat-ming () (born 2 July 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, director and writer.
Personal life
Cheung married Ho Nim-chi, a psychiatrist, in September 2001, subsequently announcing their divorce in 2016. They had one son and one daught ...
as Yip Sang-cheung (葉生祥), nicknamed Chatting Cheung (口水祥), a caricature artist whose artworks are exquisite but unable to attract attention. Because he cannot afford food, he later commits theft and was imprisoned as a result.
*Paw Hee-ching
A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws.
Common characteristics
The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, ...
as Leung Wan-lan (梁韻蘭), Bowen's mother who had suffered from a stroke and lives in a nursing home. She believes her son is conducting major business in the United States.
* Cya Liu as Leung Wai-yin (梁惠妍), a single mother who dwells with her seven-year-old daughter in McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
. After her husband's death, her mother-in-law was addicted to gambling and she worked day and night to pay her mother-in-laws debts and raise her daughter.
*Zeno Koo as Sam Wong (王洛深), a teenager who left home after assaulting his pregnant sister-in-law as he was unhappy with being responsible for housework. Bowen later helps him become an apprentice in a hair salon and reunite with his family.
*Gaga Wong as Lee Hiu-wah (李曉華), Wai-yin's seven-year-old daughter who is unable to attend school due to not having a valid ID. She would help her mother in her work.
*Kathy Wu as Tung Kit-yu (董潔如), Bowen's younger sister who studied abroad with her brother's financial support. She was entrusted by her brother to take care of their mother after his release from prison.
*Samson So as Nine Fingers (九指哥), a debt collector who harasses Wai-yin for Lai Fung's debts.
*Nora Miao
Nora Miao () (born Chan Wing-man (); 8 February 1952) is a Hong Kong film actress. She is best known for appearing in many kung fu films in the 1970s, opposite Hong Kong action movie stars such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
Background
Chan Wing-m ...
(special appearance) as Lai Fung (黎鳳), Wai-yin's mother-in-law who becomes a gambling addict after her son's death, accumulating numerous debts and despises her daughter-in-law, labeling as a jinx.
Theme song
*''Grey Stardust'' (灰色星塵)
**Composer: Peter Kam
Peter Kam Pui-Tat (, born August 23, 1961) is a music composer for Hong Kong films including ''The Warlords'', ''Bodyguards and Assassins'' and ''Dragon''.
Kam is an eight-time winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Partial filmography
* ''Big B ...
**Lyricst: Siu Mei
**Singer: Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
Production
Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
revealed he first read the script for the film at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival
The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish film director and screenwriter Pedro Almodóvar was the President of the Jury for the festival and Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and ...
and insisted to be part of the project then. He also starved himself to get the feeling of hunger in order to dive deeper into his role and suffered from psychosomatic symptoms as a result and thought he had developed cancer like his character did and had to get his body checked by a doctor who told him not to worry.
Reception
Box office
''I'm Livin' It'' grossed a total of US$3,629,423 worldwide.[
Opening on 17 September 2020 in Hong Kong, the film debuted No. 2 at its opening weekend, grossing HK$2.97 million. During its second weekend, the film grossed HK$2.18 million and was placed at No. 3, grossing a total of HK$5.15 million by then. In its third weekend, the film grossed HK$1.79 million, positioning at No. 4, grossing a total of HK$6.95 million by then. During its fourth weekend, the film grossed HK$700,000, placing at No. 7, having accumulated a total gross of HK$7.59 million by then. By 14 October 2020, ''I'm Livin' It'' had grossed a total of HK$8 million in Hong Kong.] The film ended its Hong Kong theatrical run with a total gross of HK$8,273,307 at the local box office, making it the fourth highest-grossing domestic film of 2020 in the territory.
Critical reception
Edmund Lee of the ''South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
'' gave the film a score of 3.5/5 stars praising Danny Wong's direction and the cast's performances. Lim Lian-yu of ''Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...
Lifestyle'' gave the film a score of 3/5 stars and writes "''I’m Livin’ It'' will make you ponder about the severity of the social issues presented in the movie, and how these issues of being trapped in a vicious poverty cycle have been lingering around and awaiting solutions." ''The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
'' praised Wong's direction, calling it an "engaging if heavily romanticised portrait of a tragic social phenomenon." Deborah Young of ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' praises the film's distinct and convincing tone performances of Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
and Miriam Yeung
Miriam Yeung (born 3 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop diva. As of 2020, she has released more than 35 albums and has starred in more than 40 films. In 2012, Yeung won the Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards ...
and the film's tech work.
Awards and nominations
See also
* Aaron Kwok filmography
References
External links
*
*{{IMDb title, 10117402
2019 films
2019 drama films
2019 directorial debut films
Hong Kong drama films
Melodrama films
2010s Cantonese-language films
Media Asia films
Films about homelessness
Films set in restaurants
Films set in Hong Kong
Films shot in Hong Kong
2010s Hong Kong films