Saturday, July 22, 2023

A Light Never Goes Out (2023) NYAFF 2023


Sylvia Chang gives a wonderful performance as a woman mourning the death of her husband (Simon Yam). Her husband was one of the few remaining neon sign artists in Hong Kong. As she battles with her daughter about what is best, she decides, with the help of her husband’s apprentice, to finish one last sign.

Sweet charming and fuzzy in the right way A LIGHT NEVER GOES OUT is beautifully made drama that hits all of the right notes. While the film doesn’t do anything ground breaking, it does take the form and crafts a film of the highest order. Sure we’ve been here before, but the craftsmanship before and behind the camera are so good that we can’t help but have a grand time.

That the film works so well is do to Chang in the lead. We instantly like her and we root for her to finish the one big job. Additionally her pairing with Simon Yam makes as perfect a screen couple as we are likely to ever see. You feel the love between  them in the flashbacks and in the sequences where Yam comes to her now. Watching them together I realized that was the sort of relationship I want, I want to feel the way they feel for each other.

I loved this film a great deal.

Go see this at NYAFF- and stay through the end credits where they pay tribute to the artists who made all the signs that once filled Hong Kong

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