A Simple Life is a Hong Kong film in 2009. The
movie directed by Ann Hui.
The movie portrayed the life of Sister Peach and
the relationship between her and his master Roger. Sister Peach was a house
maid and she had severed Roger’s family for 4 generation. Sister Peach had
suddenly got a stroke, and she does not want to be burden for Roger, then Roger
sent her to elderly home. The movie started with after sister peach’s stroke
and the movie deal with their relationship until sister peach’s death.
Ann Hui is one of the directors of Hong Kong
new-wave film, and these directors like to deal with the social issue and
conflict. Especially Ann Hiu expressed her concern for humanity in her film. The
theme of the movie concerned the aging problem and the nostalgia of some
traditional value in Hong Kong. The setting of movie is taken from daily
setting and these setting are ordinary, folk and realist. It presents the
realistic Hong Kong. For the aspect of narrative, director deal with the memory
without screening Sister Peach or Roger’s past memory rather she screened
Sister Peach’s personal belonging. The director expressed the theme of aging
and death without emotionally bullying plot but with
natural way, the daily life of Sister peach and interaction with her friend in
elderly home and Roger. This also can show her director style.
Nowadays, commercialize society lead to a sense of
alienation between human.
Compare to the 70s and 80s, Hong Kong is
highlighted the spirit of lion rock. We may knew each other very well, and even your neighbor. On the other
hand, the relationship between Sister Peach and Roger do not only stay in the
level of employee-employer however the relationship is “informal” it go beyond
into the level of family. In the film, he role of Sister Peach
exchange from caregiver to “care-receiver”.
We can
also see the loyalty of Sister Peach and the love as well as the sense of
responsibility of Roger, and our society is lacking in these values.
On the other hand, the movie also carried the
message of Birth and old age, sickness, death that is the process of life, no
one can stop this process. In the ending Roger did not stay with Sister Peach
for his last stage of life rather he had gone to work.
Ann Hui successfully embodied Andre Bazin’s idea
that he believe in the potential for cinema to record a social reality. Of
course the movie is adapted the real figure and story but one of the main
success of the film, the director do not try to arouse our emotion by the plot rather
the story are the collection of daily life therefore we can enjoy the film with
our sympathy.
Pang Chin Fung Felix 21240938/10457374
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