I'm Livin' It (2019) User Reviews

A look into reality on the streets

[Farz6 · 7/10 · 1 November 2020]

If you have never heard of people finding refuge in 24 hr McDonalds, then you will come to know this is a real thing in Hong Kong. Real estate is a hot commodity and rent is skyrocketing each year forcing residents to abandon the comforts of a home. This tells the stories of fictional characters but echoes very true to the people that you will find at such 24 hr fast food joints in Hong Kong. Very sad. Good movie to catch a glimpse of cruel reality.

Cinema Omnivore - I'm Livin' It (2019) 6.2/10

[lasttimeisaw · 6/10 · 19 February 2022]

"While both films aim to stick to the gritty reality, cheesy happy endings for our two protagonists have no toehold in either, I'M LIVIN' IT falls prey to a lousy script, the faux-utopian camaraderie created by the have-nots is an airy-fairy contrivance, Bowen's tenuous romance with lounge singer Jane (Yeung) is anything but plausible, chemistry is wanting between Kwok and Yeung, Hong Kong's two superstars, whose mutual familiarity gets in the way. Most maddening is the subplot pertaining to Mama (Liu), a young widow, besides rearing her undocumented pre-teen daughter (Gaga Wong, formulaically precocious and cutesy) all by herself, who also voluntarily works her butt off around the clock to shell out the gambling debts of her dead husband's mother (a fierce cameo by Miao), who condemns her as a jinx, and what awaits her is a flagrant poverty porn wielded to extract audience's tears, a self-defeating machination much owing to the ill-conception of soliciting compassion out of abasement, plus a huge waste of Cya Liu, a talented actress from mainland China, who deserves better roles."

read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.

A snapshot in our time. Touching and powerful.

[info-19352 · 9/10 · 25 September 2020]

There are roughly 250 big mac restaurants in a tiny little place like Hong Kong. Homeless people sleep in many of these 24hrs restaurants for various reasons. Fear to go home. Shame to go home. Cannot go home. Or just no home to go. Some reasons are hard to imagine. Life is hard, very hard indeed. But people do livin' it, no matter how hard it might be. This movie is very original, with many good moments and +ve emotions. That's why I like it.

Some homeless people can turn around. But to some people, it is a one-way ticket.

The slogan of a major fast food chain restaurant is "I'm lovin' it". The movie title is "I'm livin' it". A crude satire seems to be directed at the life of Hong Kong people or maybe the world at large.

This movie is like a snapshot in our time. What the World will look like in 20 years?

Movie go too extreme

[ks-60500 · 3/10 · 15 January 2021]

I do not deny there are a part of poor ones that stay overnight in chain restaurant in hk. But the situation is way too unbelievable and non sense in many aspects. An ex-financial talent get bankrupted and live on a street. An single mum works days n nights pay for his dead husband mum gambling debt. The love part of the singer and the ex-financial talent is totally non sense and unreal. The story just want get audience sympathy but be honest, too much and not natural the way the storyline planned. Poor.

A strange movie in the current and even past HK

[ivan_dmitriev · 8/10 · 22 October 2020]

7.5/10 for a somewhat stereotypical scenario, but actors and filmography are perfect.

As a person who have worked in China and with the Chinese people and have seen the Chinese society in mainland China and the Chinese society in Taiwan, I'm thinking that this movie was supposed to have been made with the intention to be a social commentary and a testament to the "never give up" spirit of ...something.

That might have worked mid-1990ies. In 2020 this looks as a straight indictment of not only Hong Kong itself, but of the modern capitalist system as a whole, and in addition to that - shows why exactly Hong Kong should not be independent and that Hongkongers have only one freedom under the "Two systems" part of "one country, two systems" - that is - the freedom to die of abject poverty while being literally (and sexually) exploited- which - is strange, especially coming out of Hong Kong, don't you think?

In addition to that - the ending song kinda puts the nail in the coffin of the "Hong Kong dream" as a subset of the "American dream", and generally - to the whole concept.

Knowing in 2020 that basically all the real and imaginary achievements of the supreme "capitalist" country of the US are based off rich and intelligent foreigners (that includes my friends and acquaintances) bringing their money and their ideas to the US, locking themselves up in gated communities (that includes my friends and acquaintances, again) and living in a society within a society, while the American White and Black natives are left to linger in darkness poverty and sickness, this movie basically shows that for ordinary Hong Kongers homelessness, unforgiving exploitation and death is only one unpaid rent away.

What's worse - and that's where the "two systems" come into play - Mama, Junkie and even the functional family of the Teen aren't even considering the possibility that they might move to the mainland, and they will be in every single way better off living in the mainland under the "unfree" system as they're dying under the "free" system. That makes the audience think that the characters, and by extension - real Hong Kongers are stupid... (which might not be far from truth?)

I couldn't help to slap myself while watching this movie because of the astonishing behavior of its rational protagonists (everyone but the Firefighter guy). Even the well-off characters are pathetic...

Oh mai gad, really - what was the intention here? A "clueless" person wants to know.

Old fashion story plot

[xiaohei-80112 · 2/10 · 28 September 2020]

What a joke spend money see this recycling plot in theatre while there's a better story plot in Netflix. In movie using smart phone, but the story telling is like pager times. Character personalities all the way from start to end give u same emotion.No interaction between the actor. The ending also twist of fate, the lead actor die then suddenly everyone happy ending like fairy tales. Come on, director and writer, please use this (Shoplifters) movie from Japan and compare to see how terrible u done as this have the same story concept as u.Director didn't make use of veterans actor in a good way making the story scattered in pieces.

Meaningful but not very captivating

[madbird-61243 · 8/10 · 12 January 2021]

Meaningful but not very captivating. Depicts the life of the many street residers in such a wealthy city.

Touching movie + well done.

[shibal-00902 · 8/10 · 26 October 2020]

Awesome story line, absolute acting It's been a while there's no such touching + good supporting role by Aaron Kwok

Good movie

[yolannanga-97821 · 10/10 · 15 August 2022]

The story is very easy to understand and the characters are very interesting each has their own story and for acting this is really a drama film that is very worth watching.

Refreshing look at life in hk!

[smyytx · 10/10 · 22 October 2020]

Was really good to watch a film that shows how the struggle is real for people in Hong Kong.

A touching story

[Gordon-11 · 26 September 2020]

This is a touching story about a group of homeless people who helps each other like family. It does not beg for sympathy, but instead it gives the homeless dignity by showing their positive side. I applaud the filmmakers for making a film on such a non commercial topic.