A Home with a View 家和萬事驚 (2019) - Hong Kong
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
With the up pending house prices in Hong Kong, social frustration of the inaction in the government and coupled with hopelessness of the generation next. The result is a well meaning black comedy produced and scripted by Cheung Tat Ming and directed by veteran Herman Yau. It’s very much a local film for Hong Kong audience with a welcome reunion of sorts for Francis Ng and Anita Yuen as well as the always presence Louis Koo and Anthony Wong in a hilarious cameo. The film may not gather much attention due to its rather subdued commercial value, but with a Netflix release should seat well with a wider worldwide audience.
Francis Ng headlines the film as the penny saving working class father and husband trying his best to hold a family of 5 together in an old walk-up apartment with a small segment of sea view. It all changes when Louis Koo, a failed ad man decided to put up a large canvas ad to block the family only sea view. Anita Yuen plays the wife and display clear chemistry with Ng. The two play off each other with their own frustrations on life and the noises generated by upstairs neighbour played by Lam Suet. Anthony Wong appears as former lover and civil servant to help the proceeding is always entertaining on-screen.
All in all, “A Home with a View” is really a minor little film with plenty of big names taking up key roles. As a black comedy on society, it falls short in its social commentary and as an entertainment piece, it lacks crucial legs of commercial cinema. Still, the family dynamics and interesting star turns by Ng, Yuen, Wong and Koo provides the film with enough backdrop and character of the audience to make it to the end, even if it requires some sense of suspension of belief.
I rated it 7/10