Tomorrow is Another Day

Mrs. Wong (Teresa Mo) is too exhausted to care that her husband is having an affair. She tolerates it in order to keep her family together, especially important since her 20 year old son Kwong (Man-Lung Ling) has autism, and developmental disabilities, that require stability and a lot of care. But one day the young mistress (they’re always young) stops by the house and agitates Kwong. After a terrible fight, Mr. Wong (Ray Lui) leaves. He leaves them. Now the burden of caring for her disabled son falls to Mrs. Wong entirely, and with his father gone, he’s acting out more than ever. If she was tired before, she’s beyond tired now. There’s almost nothing in Mrs. Wong’s life that’s just for her – her only indulgence during these dark days is to plot revenge scenarios against the dreaded mistress.

Teresa Mo, Ray Lui, and Man-Lung Ling make for a very attractive family; you’d hardly MV5BY2U2OTQ2ODQtNjQzMC00YTdiLWJiZTYtOWQ3MGI1OTE3NTJjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzI1NzMxNzM@._V1_ believe from the outside all the difficulties they face. But Mo and Lui are good at communicating a marriage strained by years of putting someone else’s needs above their own, of never having the time to honour their coupledom. We know that this is not Mr. Wong’s first dalliance, and we see the toll it’s taken on their marriage.

Ling’s portrayal of special needs is perhaps not the best we’ve seen on screen, but it’s Kwong’s relationship with his mother that is the most essential of the film. He’s normally cheerful and energetic; he skips along, vocalizing sounds more than words. But his meltdowns are ferocious. A full-grown man, when he starts self-harming, Mrs. Wong really can’t cope on her own. By showing us the enormity of her caregiver’s role, director Chan Tai-lee (the guy who wrote Ip Man) highlights a dearth of resources, of respite. Mrs. Wong shoulders it all, without complaint, facing down discrimination like that’s to be expected. All of her anger and resentment are saved for the mistress (a one-note, selfie-taking villain); murder fantasies are her only escape.

Her social life’s only balm is a group of housewives with whom she sews and sings karaoke. But these are the same women who will uncover her plot. And then what? You’ll have to watch to the end to find out.

16 thoughts on “Tomorrow is Another Day”

thelonelyauthorblog November 12, 2018 at 11:20 am

Very happy about this review.

I think Americans are too arrogant about what comes out of Hollywood. There are so many movies coming out from non American writers and producers that really put our Marvel
super hero movies to shame. Our country has lost it’s creativity. In recent years we are
cranking out garbage, while the rest of the world has come up with some real gems.

Sorry, for the little rant, but people need to give foreign films and not produced in America
films a chance.

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Jay Post authorNovember 13, 2018 at 5:06 pm

My pet peeve is Hollywood remaking foreign films. We should let them stand on their own!

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1. thelonelyauthorblog November 13, 2018 at 5:10 pm
  
  I agree with that too. I often have to correct people when they talk about Martin Scorsese and his brillaint (cough) The Departed which was based on a Hong Kong film from 2002.
  
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Bryan Fagan November 12, 2018 at 11:26 am

My have to check this one out.

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allthingsthriller November 12, 2018 at 11:55 am

I don’t know why I’ve been so resistant to Asian cinema, Jay. I watch a lot of foreign films, always have. Subtitles don’t bother me. I am routinely upbraided for watching so few Asian films and I deserve it. I may give this one a shot…I know I should…

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Jay Post authorNovember 13, 2018 at 5:16 pm

We can never see every film. Sounds like you’re open to it, so when one sparks your curiosity, you’ll see it, and that’s fine!

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