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Review: In the deeply felt ‘All Shall Be Well,’ grief gives way to a family’s pettiness

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Review: In the deeply felt 'All Shall Be Well,' grief gives way to a family's pettiness

As someone who has lived through their fair share of love stories and family dynamics, I found “All Shall Be Well” to be a poignant and heart-wrenching portrayal of love, loss, and the complexities of family. The film beautifully captures the tender moments between Angie and Pat, two women who have built a life together for over four decades. It’s a testament to the strength of their bond and the comfort they find in each other, which is further emphasized by the contrasting coldness of those around them.

In the beginning of Ray Yeung’s film “All Shall Be Well,” the camera tenderly follows the daily rituals of a longtime Hong Kong lesbian couple, Angie (Patra Au Ga Man) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin), who have been together for four decades. It appears as if it is lovingly tracing their life together, like carefully handling a prized piece of cloth. They stroll through the woods, spend time with their circle of friends, shop at the farmers market hand in hand, and organize grand, lively meals with Pat’s extended family, who accept them wholeheartedly beyond just being aware of their sexual orientation. “Aunt” Angie is incredibly close to the adult children of Pat’s brother, Shing (Tai Bo), and his wife, Mei (Hui So Ying); she even helped raise them during difficult times for that family.

There’s a big difference, though, between being family and, in the wake of a loss, remaining family. When Pat dies suddenly, a bereft Angie finds herself in a situation that puts her at odds with Shing’s family, whose handling of their grief begins to look a lot like callous discrimination. With patience and emotional intelligence, writer-director Yeung, whose handful of features (“Suk Suk,” “Front Cover”) shine a light on gay lives in Hong Kong, explores another quietly wrenching story of the types of battles for respect and acceptance that gay couples go through.

From my perspective, this powerful movie offers a crucial lesson: Ensure things are formalized. In my case, Angie found herself in a predicament because she and Pat never officially tied the knot. A disagreement over Pat’s burial arose due to this lack of legal standing on Angie’s part. Mei and Shing, disregarding Angie’s assertions that Pat desired his ashes scattered at sea, opted instead for a traditional ritual and internment in a columbarium, following advice from a fortuneteller. The sorrow etched deeply across Angie’s face during the ceremony – just one of many poignant moments in Patricia’s moving performance – encapsulates her feelings: a mix of disenchantment at the estrangement she feels from a family she believed was hers, and embarrassment for being unable to honor her loved one’s wishes.

The situation becomes more challenging when Angie discovers that Pat didn’t leave a will, leading to a dispute over the apartment in his name, potentially causing Angie and her partner to lose their home. Making matters more complex is the financial struggle faced by Mei and Shing’s family: Their son Victor wishes to start a family with his girlfriend, while their daughter Fanny, affected by their circumstances, desires something larger than the small space she resides in with her husband and children. The lack of strong relationships between the kids and their partners compared to Angie’s bond with Pat sends a chilling message, suggesting that financial gain from an oversight might take precedence over honoring lasting connections.

In the unrolling tale of “All Shall Be Well,” director Yeung subtly reveals his aversion to over-the-top villainy. The nuanced portrayals of Tai Bo and Hui, who exude tension and unease, effectively paint a disheartening picture of a world where sorrow intertwined with necessity often squeezes out the room for compassion. As the story subtly unfolds, it becomes clear that Angie isn’t merely battling individuals she’s known for years, but an unjust system that exploits the relentlessly elusive dream of homeownership to drive a wedge between cherished relationships.

Angie faces numerous hardships and manages remarkably with an impressive amount of resilience (you’ll never be happier for a character who has such supportive friends). However, the most distressing aspect is that this ordeal causes her to doubt the one thing she should rely on the most: the feelings Pat had for her. The book “All Shall Be Well” explores a heartbreaking territory as a period of comfort turns into small disputes about comfort.

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2024-09-27 21:31

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