iiiDirected and written by Alex Law Kai-yui and produced by his wife Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, Echoes of the Rainbow is a touching and uplifting film based on Law's childhood experiences, which will tug at your heartstrings and bring back nostalgic memories.
The film depicts Hong Kong in the forward-looking 1960s, as seen through the eyes of a child. Carefree, nosy and always running into trouble, Big Ears (Buzz Chung Shiu-to) wants to be the city's first astronaut. He walks round the streets of Sham Shui Po and Mong Kok with a fishbowl on his head pretending to be one, and observes with humour the ever-changing society.
His older brother Desmond (Canto-pop star Aarif Lee Chi-ting) is the total opposite of Big Ears: he's a good student and successful athlete at the elite Diocesan Boys' School (where Law also studied). The family can barely afford the school, but with his cobbler father (Simon Yam Tat-wah) just about holding down a living in a poor suburban street and his mother (Sandra Ng Kwan-yue) helping out, they somehow manage to make ends meet.
Despite the hardship, there is a lot of affection, humanity and humour in the script, bringing out the nostalgia of Hong Kong during the good old days, and the can-do spirit of a loving working-class family.
The film, which won the Crystal Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival, is a must-see for the whole family.
YP rating: 4/5