A 1950s Hong Kong housewife discovers that 'happily ever after' was just the opening lie.
Though her marriage with rich businessman Chan Hak-lit is crumbling, Anna Poon refuses to accept her childhood sweetheart Wong Kei-shu's courtship. Anna's younger sister Mei-na has a crush on Shu and treats Lee Man coldly. When she sees Anna being with Shu, she taunts Anna with stealing who she likes. Anna is hurt and goes back to Chan's house. Chan holds a house party and invites business celebrities. Shu attends it and when tells Anna he loves her when they dance. Anna rejects him and tells him never to see her again. Chan goes to the racecourse. When Shu falls down from a horse, Anna faints. Chan asks Anna what her relationship with Shu is. He warns her not to have any wrongdoing and ruin his reputation. Shu is fine and asks Anna to meet for the last time. Anna cannot turn down him and goes to meets him. Lit miscomprehends the situation and files a divorce. He even forbids Anna to see their daughter. A distressed Anna becomes a victim of love in a conservative society.
Acting
Pak Yin's controlled devastation—every glance is a scream.
Costume
Cheongsams as emotional armor, increasingly suffocating.
Direction
Lee Sun-fung's Tolstoy transplant feels eerily Cantonese.
Director
Lee Sun-fung
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lee Sun-fung relocated Tolstoy's Russia to 1950s Hong Kong, swapping trains for racecourses and orthodox scandal for conservative Chinese family honor.
HK
