The Sunny Side of the Street
Nominated for six Golden Horse Awards including Best Picture, this well-done melodrama about the challenging facing immigrants in Hong Kong tracks the friendship between a gruff, emotionally distant taxi driver and a 10-year-old Pakistani refugee.
Late to his son's wedding, impatient Hong Kong taxi driver Yat (Anthony Wong) collides with a Pakistani immigrant who's waiting on refugee status abroad. In the wake of the feud that follows, a remorseful Yat takes the immigrant's ten-year-old son, Hassan, under his wing. While Yat's relationship with his own devoted son strains, the cunning Hassan falls into trouble that jeopardizes his future, and his need to flee tests their bond. Lau Kok-rui's feature debut spotlights the connection between a father seeking redemption and a son navigating displacement and grief. Stylistic and narrative allusions to Hamaguchi's Drive My Car lend dramatic weight without the runtime or cerebral tone. The human cost of border policies, the troubles men have relating, and the sacrifices made for love come to life in this winding picture with occasional humor that's carried by Wong's physical yet sensitive performance. It's a study of life amidst loss.
—Brian Clement
- Original Language Title: 白日青春
- Director: Lau Kok-rui
- Principal Cast: Anthony Wong, Sahal Zaman, Endy Chow, Inderjeet Singh, Kiranjeet Gill
- Country: Hong Kong
- Year: 2022
- Running Time: 112 min.
- Producer: Vinod Sekhar, Soi Cheang, Winnie Tsang, Peter Yam
- Screenplay: Lau Kok-rui
- Cinematographers: Leung Ming Kai
- Editors: Matthieu Laclau, Tsai Yann-shan
- Music: Lam Kwan-fai, Julian Chan
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Golden Horse Film Festival 2022 (Best Actor, Original Screenplay)
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: Cantonese, Urdu
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- International Sales: Golden Scene Company Limited