IN BROAD DAYLIGHT (BAK YAT JI HA)
Cert 15
106 mins
BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence, strong violence
"Ten years from now, will newspapers still exist?"
'Newspapers will be gone, but journalists will remain. No matter what time we live in, people will always pursue the truth.'
The conversation between the two investigative reporters was set during the same period I considered leaving newspaper journalism after a 32-year career.
During In Broad Daylight, tenacious reporter Kay's love affair with the printed press is ending, but her desire to uncover wrongdoing is undoubtedly not.
Kay, played with guts and gusto by Jennifer Yu, goes undercover at a care home to prove that the residents are being maltreated.
She discovers a situation which is even worse than she had imagined.
However, she has to provide concrete evidence to back up her own anecdotal experience of physical and sexual violence.
David Chiang plays a vital ally - one of the residents who is sharper than the management realises.
Meanwhile, Bowie Lam and Baby Bo portray her targets - the cold-hearted staff who mete out horrors.
But the focus also falls on the state, which has privatised the care system and even allowed regular deaths at the home to go unchallenged.
Lawrence Kawn Chun Kan's movie shows that the crisis in social care should worry us wherever we live.
It depicts a heartbreaking incident in which the vulnerable are treated as sub-human.
But even more catastrophic could be the demise of journalism.
The public impression has been that reporters are pariahs, and the vast reduction in their numbers should be celebrated.
With echoes of Oscar-winner Spotlight, In Broad Daylight is a clear example of why independent investigation is imperative in providing checks and balances to the corrupt.
It is an excellent movie, which I highly recommend.
Reasons to watch: Compelling true story
Reasons to avoid: Upsetting scenes
Laughs; None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 9/10
Did you know? The operator of Cambridge Nursing Home in Hong Kong was suspended after local media HK01 first reported its malpractices, with a follow-up by Ming Pao Daily that sparked an uproar.
The final word. Lawrence Kan Kwan-chun: "I would love [In Broad Daylight] to have an impact like Spotlight or the Korean film Silenced. The real heroes are the reporters and the social workers, who work 20 or 30 years for tiny changes. If my film makes one person do something – anything – that’s good enough." Zolima
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