The 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards has come to an end.
"Goldfinger" won six trophies, and the actor Tony Leung won six Golden Statue Best Actors.
However, what I want to share with you today is that
Another hit film from this year's Academy Awards!
Some people say it's "Hong Kong's version of The Melting Pot"!
Some people say that if it can be filmed and broadcast, it will win!
It is, adapted from real events, won four Golden Statue trophies, Douban 8.0-
"Under the White Sun" !!
1
A shocking hell on earth
"Under the White Sun" is adapted from a number of reports on disabled homes that shocked the society.
Its story takes place in Hong Kong, where every inch of land is valuable,
Its protagonist is a veteran female journalist, Xiaoqi.
Recently, Xiaoqi received an anonymous letter of revelation,
Suspected of abusing residents by the caregivers of Caiqiao Home, a disabled home!
So, Xiaoqi pretended to be the granddaughter of a dementia resident Tongbo,
Infiltrate the House of Saihashi and launch a secret investigation.
Choi Kiu Home is a disabled home with more than 70 residents.
Some of these residents are mentally handicapped patients, some are homeless elderly people,
There are also people with disabilities who are unable to take care of themselves.
They only pay the least amount of money,
You can have food and accommodation at Caiqiao House, as well as 24-hour nurses.
Think, that sounds pretty good.
But when Xiaoqi walked into Caiqiao's house, what she saw was,
A shocking hell on earth!
Because, for the capitalists of the private Caiqiao House
These residents are nothing more than tools to collect money from the government and society!
Therefore, the residents live in dense and narrow partition rooms,
In the damp corner, the rats have rotted and stink, and no one cares.
The residents ate expired siu mai and white rice!
Some residents threw food on the ground in protest,
The results are that
The caregiver put the food on the floor back on his plate and told him,
Either eat or starve.
What's even more incredible is that there are only two nurses to take care of these more than 70 residents!
If an elderly resident is emotionally out of control,
The nurse slapped him hard and tied his hands and feet to a wheelchair.
If a resident with an intellectual disability does not listen to discipline,
The nurse dragged him into a small room, kicked him and scolded him.
And stapled the staple steel into his arm as punishment.
If the elderly who are incapacitated need to take a bath,
The nurses pushed the naked old people onto the rooftop.
Then, like a slaughterhouse worker, rinse them roughly with a hose.
Thinking that all this has really happened, I feel cold in my hands and feet.
And Xiaoqi also made up her mind because of the scene in front of her
Expose the sins of Caiqiao House and speak out for the disadvantaged!
2
The road to rights protection is full of difficulties
But justice is not simple.
What Xiaoqi has to face is a difficult road to defend her rights!
Xiaoqi wants to report to the Social Welfare Department, hoping to curb the evil deeds of the Choi Kiu House as soon as possible.
A Hong Kong lawmaker told her,
Many residents have witnessed misconduct in private residential care homes.
There have been reports of private homes for the disabled.
However, no matter how much you complain, it will not help.
Never has a single residential care home had its operating licence revoked.
Because of the shortage of public resources, the government acquiesced in the private residential care homes to have the function of elderly care.
If private residential care homes are easily banned, the government will once again face tremendous pressure on the elderly in the community.
In the face of the replies of the parliamentarians, Xiaoqi decided to report in the newspaper herself!
But the leaders of the newspaper felt that
The existing material is only an extreme case, not enough for a report to detonate public opinion.
If Xiaoqi wants to continue to follow up, she must have more evidence.
In order to gather more evidence, Xiaoqi decided to start with the family members of some of the residents.
The feedback available was not satisfactory either.
Because in the eyes of these people who have no choice but to send their relatives to the Caiqiao House,
A family member who can't take care of himself is a heavy burden,
And the existence of Caiqiao House has even reduced the pressure on their lives to a certain extent.
So, the mother who had a child who died for no reason at Caiqiao House said,
For the death of a child,
In addition to being sad, I will also secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
I couldn't help but gasp off-screen,
Will this group of villains who abuse and exploit their residents continue to go unpunished?
Could it be that Xiaoqi's road to justice for the weak ends here?
At this moment, Xiaoqi found during the investigation visit,
In the house of Caiqiao, there are even more heinous evils hidden!
The sanctimonious dean Zhang Jianhua,
In the name of a game, he sexually assaulted a female resident!
The emergence of this harrowing event,
Will it be a turning point for Xiaoqi to defend the rights of the disadvantaged?
3
A masterpiece of realism with objective restraint
I won't spoil the plot below, but what I can tell you is that
"Under the White Sun" is an objective and restrained masterpiece of realism!
It's not just about telling the story of a journalist who delivers justice.
On this basis, it excavates and examines the causes and effects behind social reality and evil.
For example, why do private homes for the disabled such as Choi Kiu Home dare to commit abuse again and again?
Because, the reality is cruel, and public pension institutions are overwhelmed.
According to official data, it takes 7 to 8 years to wait for a bed,
But in reality, it takes an average of 15 years!
Therefore, the Government can only involve private residential care homes.
While the government outsources the pension responsibility, it also puts aside the regulatory responsibility.
This allows private institutions to abuse and enrich with impunity.
For example, why do residents want to stay here even though they know that the house is unbearable?
Because, "it is better to have a tile to cover your head than to sleep on the street".
Therefore, the families of the elderly who have no support, the homeless disabled, and the intellectually handicapped who are from poor families,
For a bed with tiles overhead to shelter from the wind and rain,
They are willing to hand over their handouts to the institution, and pretend to be deaf and dumb even if they are abused.
And this is why the dean of the beast still dared to say to reporters confidently after his evil deeds were exposed,
"Only I gave them a home, it was not me who abandoned them, it was my family and society!"
After completing the excavation of social reality and the cause and effect of evil,
"Under the White Sun" is very restrained and abandons the coolness that many commercial films love,
It is a real representation of the situations that we often encounter in real life.
Good is not necessarily rewarded, and those who do evil are not necessarily punished.
After a brief storm of public opinion, nothing may change.
At this time, friends who have not watched the film may ask,
So what is the significance of Xiaoqi exposing the sins of the Caiqiao Family?
What is the significance of this movie based on reality?
saw Xiaoqi say something like this in the movie,
"There are always people who go after the truth. ”
I saw the director say something like this outside the movie,
"Movies don't necessarily solve problems, but at least they can ask the world questions. ”
Luckily, this time the movie succeeded in asking the world!
A few months after the release of "Under the White Sun",
One of the prototypes of the movie, Zhang Jianhua, the director of "Kangqiao House", sexually assaulted a female housemate, and finally ushered in justice!
The judge sentenced: Zhang Jianhua and Kangqiao Home must compensate the victims for a total of about 1.19 million!
This is probably the value of a good movie that is worth watching!
Finally, a warm reminder,
If you watch the Cantonese version of this film, the viewing will be better~