‘All Shall Be Well’: Berlin Review

Dir/scr: Ray Yeung. Hong Kong. 224. 93mins

Ray Yeung continues to cast his empathetic eye on social issues in his native Hong Kong in All Shall Be Well. His 2019 feature Suk Suk (released in several territories as Twilight’s Kiss) looked at the problems faced by older gay men; now Yeung focuses tenderly on an elderly, seemingly-accepted lesbian couple against a backdrop of working class poverty and the unreachable dream of owning your own home. 

Strong character sketches across a multi-generational family 

Suk Suk was honoured at the Hong Kong Film Awards and also played in Berlin’s Panorama. The strong character sketches across a multi-generational family and the flavour of real Hong Kong should also see All Shall Be Well into play in Asia, particularly Singapore and Japan which face similar social issues. Yeung has placed his cast – many of them returning from his last film – into a situation which has a resonance outside Asia, too, although the steadily maudlin tone could deter wider play outside festival and LGBT circuits. Wong Kar-wai stalwart William Chang Suk-ping’s name in the credits as supervising editor will be a sharp lure for cineastes.

Two themes, keenly observed, run through the film. The first is the precarious position of the ageing LGBT population as personified by Angie (Patra Au Ga-man) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin-lin), a loving lesbian couple of more than three decades. The second is how their fate intertwines with Pat’s relatives, where the struggle of the working class clashes with notions of right or wrong. The law, meanwhile, is an ass, but its treatment of same-sex couples is not unique to Hong Kong.

We see Angie and Pat as they prepare a mid-autumn festival feast for Pat’s family (Angie’s elderly mother and father live outside the city, and have struggled to recognise their relationship). They shop for food in the wet market where they are treasured customers; they prepare the meal; they welcome the guests; and they are much loved. At dinner, we meet Pat’s brother Shing (Tai Bo, from Suk Suk), his wife Mei (Hui So-ying, also returning), beloved loser nephew Victor (Leung Chung-hang) and niece Fanny (Fish Liew Chi-yu) and her family. Much reference is made to a lifetime of familial care by the ‘aunties’ – but there are also some fissures to be seen.

Twenty minutes in, however, and the film shifts gears, at least narratively even if there has always been an over-riding sense of sadness: Pat dies suddenly, and the main section of All Will Be Well  deals with the fallout of her never having made a will. Angie’s name is not on the deeds to their precious home. Hong Kong does not allow same-sex marriages, and although it will recognise the rights of those wed overseas, Angie is shocked to discover she is not next of kin and as such, she has no rights. This requires a small suspension of disbelief – has she been living under a rock?  – but Yeung is keen not to overtly date his film, either, and there is some talk of Pat wanting to wait until she turned 70 to formalise her instructions.

Initially supportive of their beloved, devastated aunt, Pat’s family is facing some painful difficulties: Shing’s low-paid job as a night watchman and lack of insurance; Fanny’s bad marriage and cramped apartment; Victor’s desire to start a family which he cannot afford. Appreciation of the better-off Pat’s generosity easily slips into envy and jealousy. All of this will see their so-called love crumble, but it starts in the funeral parlour where Angie is brutally introduced to the reality of her current situation.

All Will Be Well is undoubtedly an old-fashioned drama, but it is no less effective for that classic structure. Strong performances and an unshakeable sense of place lure the audience into a picture of an unfair society and a plea for equal standing – not to mention making a will. It is stripped down yet potent, helped by a very smooth edit by Lai.