Ann Hui's Film The Way We Are

Ann Hui claims that her film The Way We Are is realistic, suggesting it relies on the accurate representation of the working-class life in Hong Kong. Thus, the use of everyday objects in the film has particular significance, since it is these objects within the house interior that create a believable presentation of life in Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong. In the first shots of the film, we can see a teenage boy sleeping in his bed. The first detail that is noticed is the bedding: pink sheets and a pillow cover with Minnie Mouse on it. However banal this detail looks, it seems like a deliberate choice, primarily because of the stereotypically 'girly' bed covers used by a grown-up male, creating a contrast that is difficult to miss. Thus, the director draws the audience's attention to the Disney bedding, certainly creating a link to globalization, or, more specifically, Disneyzation, of Hong Kong. The use of clothes also clearly reflects Western influences in Hong Kong citizens' lifestyle. One of the examples is Kwai's t-shirt with a print that says 'Hysteric':

Obviously, the use of this piece of …show more content…
Ann Hui uses the market as a location in the film a few times. For example, when Leung first appears, she buys a small portion of beef from a meat stall, reflecting a traditional way of local products trade. The film juxtaposes market and the supermarket, the work place of Leung and Kwai. Supermarket is the space of international trade: in the first Kwai's work scene she is sorting the durian, which comes in boxes with the label: “Durian. Product of Thailand.” The box is central in the frame, reminding the audience that supermarket focuses on international product sales, which demonstrates how supermarket is a global space. Therefore, the contrast between the market and the supermarket underlines the 'glocal' nature of the film and, therefore, 'glocal'-ness of Hong Kong