He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father (2K Digital Version)

Dirs: Peter Chan Ho-sun, Lee Chi-ngai
Scr: Lee Chi-ngai
Prod Co: United Filmmakers
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Carina Lau Ka-ling, Anita Yuen, Lawrence Cheng
1993 | Colour | DCP | Cantonese | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 97min

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father follows Yuen (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a materialistic young man who blames his father, Fan (Tony Leung Ka-fai), for their impoverished life, accusing him of prioritising morality over wealth. After a freak accident sends Yuen back to the 1950s, he befriends his younger father and witnesses the selflessness and community spirit that define Fan. The father’s motto, ‘All for one, one for all’, reflects his unwavering dedication to helping others, earning him the admiration of neighbours and the love of Laura (Carina Lau Ka-ling), who later becomes his wife.

The film’s Chinese title pays homage to My Intimate Partners (1960), though the ‘brotherhood’ in this story is between father and son, brought together through time travel—a premise reminiscent of Back to the Future (1985). The film also draws inspiration from Union Film Enterprise Ltd’s classic In the Face of Demolition (1953), naming characters after the company’s key members and conferring the film’s famous motto (in turn borrowed from the French novel The Three Musketeers) to Fan. Yuen’s name also references Chor Yuen, a prolific filmmaker who embodied the Union Film spirit, and Chor Yuen himself makes a guest appearance in the film. With its thoughtful nods to 1950s Hong Kong cinema and its recreation of the era’s ethos, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father is a nostalgic tribute to community spirit and the morality-driven filmmaking championed by Union Film and its successors.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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