This film review was actually written a while ago. Just posting it now not because I’ve settled into the relatively slower pace of life in the UK; it’s just in accordance to our posting schedule 😛

It was quite an enjoyable watch for me. Consistent with the styles of his earlier works, the director takes the audience through Hong Kong’s popular streets and the far-flung rural areas through the lens of his camera.

Watching this Hong Kong movie in a foreign country, the quiet and beautiful rural scenes were mesmerizing no doubt. What surprised me was when I saw the familiar hustle and bustle of the Central Pier and the Kwun Tong traffic intersection; instead of the old feeling of annoyance, it was almost like meeting an old friend.

Great performance from the actors and actresses. The picturesque scenes leaves one sighing in awe – “Hong Kong is very beautiful”.

My personal favourite part was the cameo with Manson (@mansonvibes). Manson’s laidback vibe, and his experience of being a farmer while fighting depression in his early years, returning to the country lifestyle, aligns perfectly with the movie’s theme.

The theme of the movie is to find the life you want, not to care too much what other people think, and also to cherish the unique natural scenery in Hong Kong. The soundtrack was wonderful. In the middle part (I don’t remember exactly where), there was suddenly the crisp sound of pouring water from the song “I Wanna Do Nothing Today” (yes, I have always been obsessed with this song by Manson, and inexplicably, my favorite part is the prelude with pouring water sounds), with Manson’s lazy voice, it really hit the spot for me. I had literal goosebumps.

The creative industry in Hong Kong is undoubtedly getting more restricted, but this doesn’t prevent directors and actors from creating good films. The dialogues may be more cautious – there can no longer be outbursts of “Why do citizens need to be scared of the police? Why do citizens need to be afraid of public servants”. Instead, it would be tacit and implicit, like how Kaki Shen said in this movie – “It’s really troublesome to live in Prince Edward the past two years.” Perhaps we are no longer able, or willing, to mention the events of the last two to three years.

Lastly, I want to mention the venue where I watched this movie. It is a hipster theater called HOME (hence the word HOME in this article’s title). Located in Manchester, the theatre collects excellent works from all over the world. On the day I watched the movie, there were about 30 in the audience; more than half of the faces were not Asian.

As an authentic (ex-?)Hong Konger, I couldn’t help laughing when I saw urban jokes like “Guests from Cheung Chau” and “167” in the film¹. But at the same time, I couldn’t help thinking about those in the audience who were not born and raised in Hong Kong – how much of the humour would they understand?

When I first immigrated to the UK, I was very determined to fully understand and fully integrate into the local culture, to become a 100% British. Today, after settling down in Manchester for a little over a year, I feel less fixated on this. Because I came to know that no matter how good your English is, if you have never watched “Peaky Blinders”, it’ll be difficult to join the conversation on the drama series. In the same way, your “Cheung Chau guest” is not easy for others to understand.

A lot of friends have asked me how life is in the UK; whether it is difficult to find a job, and whether I feel like I fit in. My thoughts are: life is well, but a certain gap (from discussions on the Royal Family to Pop Culture and Slangs) will be very hard for me to bridge. However, this is precisely why we should retain our uniqueness while trying to integrate into the British community. Being in harmony does not necessarily means we have to be the same.

“Busying ourselves with trivialities 
We realise life fades away in a flash 
I believe we can be reunited through thick and thin 
I’m happy just to have dinner with you”

文其實寫了好一陣子，現在才post，並非因為融入英國慢活的56k生活模式，而是出文章有先後次序之分，請見諒(哈)。

電影我覺得是不錯的，導演黃浩然沿用前作的概念和脈絡，用鏡頭帶觀眾遊走香港的大街小巷，分別是今次去得更盡，尋遍各種人跡罕至，如詩如畫的「山旮旯」。

在異地看這套港味極濃的作品，郊區美景固然令人看得如癡如醉，然而在電影院內看到久違的中環碼頭，觀塘老母等，居然絲毫未覺其煩囂，而是會會心微笑，彷如和老朋友重逢般溫暖，倒是我始料不及的。

演員發揮出色，岑珈其和余香凝演繹尤為討好，鏡頭畫面美輪美奐，令人不禁慨嘆「香港真係好靚」。

個人最最最偏愛的部份是：找了Manson 客串。 Manson 灑脫爛漫的氣質，和早年對抗抑鬱時曾做農夫，回歸大自然懷抱的歷練，與電影主題如出一轍。

電影主旨為尋找自己想要的生活，不必太在意他人目光，也點出應珍惜香港獨有的大自然風光。選曲也是絕妙，電影播放到中段(具體那裏不記得了)，居然傳來《今天我不想做嘢》透徹的倒水聲(對，我一直迷戀這首歌，莫名其妙地，我最喜歡的就是一開始的倒水聲)，再配上Manson 慵懶糜爛的歌聲，實在是畫龍點睛，聽到我起曬雞皮。

香港的創作環境無疑收窄了，但這並不妨礙導演和演員們交出一套好作品。對白要比以前來得謹慎，陳豪不能再吼出「點解市民要驚警察？點解公民要怕公僕」，而是要帶點心照不宣的含蓄，例如岑珈其的「咁過去兩年住太子又真係麻煩啲嘅」。過去兩三年的事，可能大家應該不再，不願，不能，也不便提起。

最後想提的，是我觀看這套電影的Venue。那是一間叫HOME的文青戲院(因此文章標題用上HOME一詞)，位於Manchester，專為觀眾搜羅世界各地的優秀作品。我看電影當日，影院內大概有30個觀眾，超過一半不是亞洲人面孔。

身為(曾經？)地道的香港人，看到片末「長洲賓客」，「167」等，固然忍俊不禁，但當刻我不禁想到，那些不是在香港土生土長的觀眾，看這套作品時，又能夠品嚐到多少詼諧和幽默？

剛移英時，曾很執着於完全明白，完全融入本地人的生活，成為一個100%的英國人。時至今日，移英足一年，好像也不再拘泥於此了。因為我明白到，任憑你英文幾咁勁，「如果個匪徒無啦啦同你講皆大歡喜嘅劇情」，你係冇睇過皆大歡喜的話，就點都唔會接到。同理，你的「長洲賓客」，人家也不易懂。

近日有不少朋友問我，在英生活如何，難不難找工作，能不能融入之類。我覺得：會活得好，但某種狹蓬(上至Royal Family 下至Pop Culture 和Slang)則很難很難填補。然而，正因如此，我們更應該保留起自身獨特之處，盡力嘗試融和到英國社群。和，不一定要同。

「奔波碌碌撲撲而為 在彈指之間
可相信生命定團圓 在風雨消退之後
我話 開心可以跟你享晚餐」