The Lunar New Year is just around the corner and it is time for families to be together for festival celebrations. The Hong Kong Film Archive of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has prepared the programme "May Good Fortune Knock at Your Door" to be presented on January 27 and February 1 next year, screening four films which deliver warmth and love that are sure to help audiences embark on a joyful 2020.      
 
     In "Sail Before the Wind" (1965), jewellery shop owner Tang Kei-chen promises his entire fortune to the son who first bears him a grandson. Upon learning that the youngest son's wife Ho Lan is pregnant, the wives of the two eldest sons, Tam Lan-hing and Lee Hong-kum, compete for the family fortune by faking their own pregnancies. As the family tension soars, youngest son Woo Fung tries hard to avoid conflicts with his siblings Cheng Kwan-min and Yu Ming by coming up with an extraordinary solution to restore harmony at home.
      
     "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father" (1993) follows Tony Leung Ka-fai, who goes to absurd lengths to help his needy friends, causing his wife, Carina Lau, much work to make ends meet. His son, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, is unable to study medicine as he wishes, causing him to dislike his father. By a strange quirk, an accident pulls the resentful son back in time to the days when his father was young, helping him understand and embrace the selfless moral beliefs of his elders.
 
     Featuring a star-studded cast from the Shaw Brothers Studio, "Hong Kong 73" (1974) is set in the Hong Kong of the 1970s, where the economy has taken off and everyone dreams of becoming rich. Here, the motto of the characters switches from "all for one and one for all" to "all for the money". Not until an accident occurs do they realise that helping each other is the best way. While satirically portraying the multifaceted social setting of Hong Kong at the time, the film also highlights the city's indomitable Lion Rock spirit.
 
     In "A Family Affair" (1984), Sam Hui and Olivia Cheng are on the verge of a divorce due to personality clashes. Their children, Ben Ben and Helen Chan, each live with an estranged parent and miss each other. Together, they try every possible way to bring their family back together.
 
     All of the films are in Cantonese. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father" and "Hong Kong 73" are with Chinese and English subtitles, while the other films are without subtitles.
 
     Tickets priced at $45 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries, please call 2739 2139 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/HKFA/en_US/web/hkfa/programmesandexhibitions/programmes/2020cny/index.html.

Ends/Friday, December 27, 2019
Issued at HKT 17:15

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