The Sunny Side of the Street – a drama movie taking place in Hong Kong as a backdrop with film actors from Hong Kong and Pakistan depicting immigrants’ confrontations from these two different places wants to stimulate your deep thought.

Yat stowed away to Hong Kong in the 1970s from Mainland China, he was a refugee despite now being a citizen in this place. Not knowing if he has forgotten his status as a refugee in the past, he discriminates against the group of South Asia immigrants, who come as refugees making use of Hong Kong as a stepping stone to some foreign countries. Yat is not a happy person; I suppose the reason for it might stem from the loss of his wife in the sea when she was with him stowing away to Hong Kong then.

Being an unhappy person, Yat randomly drinks rendering his liver deteriorated and need transplantation, and his son has donated part of his to him despite the relationship between them is far from good ostensibly. The story aims at bringing Yat to a Pakistani family with a slight bump of his taxi into a Pakistan man’s delivery van. Doomed, such an encounter cannot but evolve into the afterward tragedy when Yat handles the matter in an irresponsible and bad way. Yat pours as much scorn as he can onto the Pakistani man leading to even bigger trouble rendering the Pakistani man dead in a later car crash. It is avoidable if Yat could act properly and considerably by getting rid of his loathsome and prejudice against immigrants, that he should offer refugees empathy when he was also a refugee in the past. He especially disdains South Asia immigrants calling them a derogatory name, I suppose the reason is he sees Hong Kong as a place for the Chinese, and South Asia immigrants are a different race a lot inferior and deserving of scorn.

Nevertheless, Yat restores sympathy when he knows the Pakistani man has died because of his taxi chasing his van, and he tries to do something to atone for his family. Hassan is another main character in the movie, he is the son of the Pakistani man. This ten-year-old kid longs for another place rather than feels contented in staying in Hong Kong waiting. His character is a bit rebellious and aggressive, unlike some kids who are submissive and passive. He joins some illegal gangs after his father’s death rendering him in dire trouble during a crackdown by the police. At this moment, the story formally brings these two characters together by showing us an unexpected bond of affection and love with Yat goes to the extreme to help Hassan, with a considerable sum of money, stow away to Taiwan, fleeing the arrest of the police if he stays. However; in the middle of the process, Hassan gets to know Yat has much to do with his father’s death but conceals the truth from him, he rejects his help and runs away despite later changing his mind without choice when found.

My sentiment after watching the film is something deeper. Firstly, I do think refugees should be grateful for everything a place gives them no matter if it is good enough or not. They have to know no one owes them but their own countries, and receiving help from others should be at least thankful and, behave well to earn their respect. Secondly, I think Yat goes all out to help Hassan is out of compensation on one hand, and on the other hand, he is compensating his son on the psychological side. Suffering from so many years of the bad relationship between him and his son, he knows he owes him his mother’s love, that he had failed to take care of her rendering her dead in the sea while she stowed away to Hong Kong with him. His subconsciousness in owing his son is unspeakable and unmentionable when he is a person bad at expressing himself. Now, thinking Hassan loses his father like his son lost his mother then, Yat realizes that Hassan’s life will only be pathetic, so he goes to the extreme to help him without a second thought. Of course, Yat might be a lot simpler or more complicated beyond our imagination that the film has failed to tell us.

Actually, I have some deeper perceptions about Yat’s character that I want to tell; however, I am afraid of over-analyzing a movie is like over-explaining a joke, both will be like dissecting a frog. So, I should stop here!