Jacob Cheung directed this collaboration between Michael Hui and United Filmmakers Organization (UFO), where Hui’s deadpan humour and searing social satire proved to be a surprisingly effective, match with Cheung’s social realist style. The film blends absurdist humour, tears, and laughter along with a sincere and moving plot.

Hui plays TV news anchor Chiang Yao-wei. With his wife Yan (Josephine Siao Fong-fong) and three children, life is happy if slightly chaotic, until he discovers he is terminally ill with only three months left to live. Just before being forced out by the television executives, Chiang becomes a sensation while covering an armed robbery. To compete for ratings, the TV executives took the opportunity to make him an onscreen celebrity. In his newfound fame, Yao-wei can freely speak his mind while raking in the money, but Yan is the only one who thinks he is lying about his illness…

Hui delivers a sharp satirical performance that skewers the commercialization and unethical practices of the news media. He criticizes the media for doing everything they can, including lying, to compete for ratings— criticisms that still feel relevant today. The final “Last Tango” monologue is at once ridiculous, funny, clever, and touching, while the ongoing reminder of death marks a clear departure from Hui’s past filmography, as well as hinting at broader social tensions in the run-up to the handover. Cheung’s vivid portrayal of familial relations is at its best here, as he spins a tragicomic tale about parents worrying about their children and bending over backwards to earn extra living expenses. The scene where husband and wife express their love remains powerfully heartwarming and touching. Always on My Mind is an excellent example of comic-realism in Hong Kong cinema.

Courtesy of Hui's Film Production Co., Ltd.

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