The Way We Are 2008

Nina Pau Hei-Ching and Juno Leung Chun-Lung star as a mother and her son living in Tin Shui Wai New Town, a quiet setting that grounds their everyday life in routine and resilience. The mother works at the local supermarket, keeping a steady rhythm to the small world around them, while her son is a Form 5 student who waits for his HKCEE results during the summer holiday. The film unfolds with a gentle realism, focusing on the small choices that shape a family’s day-to-day survival and sense of belonging.

One ordinary day, the mother encounters Chan Lai-wun, a neighbor who has just been hired at the supermarket. Chan has her eye on a television but is deterred by a delivery fee she can’t justify. To help out, the mother enlists the son to accompany Chan to the electrical store and carry the heavy box back to Chan’s flat, sparing her that extra cost. In a warm, reciprocal gesture, Chan later returns the kindness with a bag of expensive Chinese mushrooms, a token that hints at the mutual care weaving through their neighborhood.

When the mother falls ill, the son, together with his cousin, visits her in the hospital, revealing the depth of family bonds and the concern that travels beyond the immediate household. At the same time, their grandmother insists on swallow’s nest congee, a small cultural ritual that underscores the persistence of tradition in moments of vulnerability.

Through the story of Chan’s deceased daughter, a grandson emerges who lives with Chan’s son-in-law, who has since remarried. Chan buys gifts for them and accompanies the mother to Shatin to deliver them, but the grandson doesn’t appear and the gifts are rejected by the son-in-law. In a quiet act of generosity, Chan hands the gifts to the mother to safeguard, a gesture that reflects the shifting, compassionate responsibilities that families often navigate.

Meanwhile, the son encounters his school life in a new way when he runs into Ms. Tsui, a teacher from his school, played by Idy Chan Yuk-Lin. Ms. Tsui invites him to help out as a student counselor when he returns for Form 6, and he accepts, signaling a step toward maturity and service to others within his community.

The story also follows the siblings back home, with the mother’s support enabling her younger brothers to study abroad. Clifton Ko Chi-Sum appears as Uncle Chuen, a figure who discusses the future with the son and promises that he and his younger brother will help fund overseas study if he wishes to pursue it. The son responds with patient consideration, deciding to wait and see his HKCEE results before making any big choices about his own path.

As the film draws to a close, the three—Paw, Leung, and Chan—are shown sharing a meal together in Tin Shui Wai. Leung’s HKCEE results are satisfactory, allowing him to continue on to Form 6, and the sense of communal support culminates in a simple, hopeful dinner that speaks to the strength of family ties and the quiet dignity of everyday life in this Hong Kong suburb.

Vincent Chui Wan-Shun adds depth to the neighborhood tapestry as Uncle Yung, a steady presence among relatives and neighbors who helps thread the various strands of the story toward a warm, satisfying close. The film stays grounded in the ordinary, yet it finds meaning in the ordinary acts of care that nourish family, friendship, and community.