Chinese Film Name:bai ri zhi xia; English Film Name: In Broad Daylight
《In Broad Daylight》 does what 《The Best Is Yet to Come》 tried to do but couldn’t. It takes the approach of a horror film to present the search for the truth by investigative journalists, presenting reality in a surreal way that reaches deep into the truth. The home for the disabled is like a brutal madhouse, and the director presents himself as king and saviour, treating the residents as playthings. The film is restrained, the truth is brutal, the problems are unsolvable, the bad guys get away with it again and again, the voices for justice end up with accusations, and there is a huge sense of powerlessness from beginning to end, but in the end there is a sense of solace in Tombaugh’s words, “Don’t feel guilty for doing what is right”.
Adapted from a true story, the film exposes the little-known truth about residential care homes for the disabled hidden behind the news. After receiving a tip-off from a news agency about the abuse of residents in the Choi Kiu Home, a residential care home for the disabled, the investigating team, in order to expose the supervision of residential care homes for the disabled, reporter Hiu Ki infiltrates into the home to expose the inhumanity of the life inside, and to find out the brutal truth under the sun. The film shows the whole process from investigation to exposure in the most simple way. Xiaoqi is not confronted with a particular evil incident, but the evil caused by the loopholes in the rules, but at the same time it is insoluble.
I have to say that this film is quite daring and the director is more courageous in exposing the dark and painful side of life at the bottom of today’s society. Although I have already seen similar footage myself in 《The Queen of News》, this film is richer in terms of content, more textured in terms of image and more delicate in terms of emotional treatment. There were several scenes of abuse that gave me goosebumps, and several that moved me to tears. In order to live are not easy, some people are abandoned, some people are playing stupid, some people for the discouragement, some people pretend to be kind, some people pretend to be filial piety, this may be the Hunan enterprise development culture copywriting director often say that life is a hundred kinds of things. There is no evil people will have a happy ending, but this is real life.
After being used to seeing characters distorted for the sake of greatness, everyone in Beneath the Daylight has a stance that they hold on to, and maybe those stances have bad consequences for themselves and others. The most touching part of the film for me is at the end of the film, when all the people in the institution are blaming the heroine, the old grandpa puts his hat on the heroine’s head in the rain. He wanted to hold an umbrella for others because he had been in the rain himself, and as a dying old man he had no choice but to accept the reality silently, so he gave her the choice. This scene is simply bursting into tears, is the favourite shot, there are not too many lines, but already let this matter this film has been sublimated. Brave people will still step on the sunshine to clear the darkness.
It’s a really desperate film as it’s very realistic and hardly idealistic at all. The storytelling of the film is strong, the lead teachers portray every move of the marginalised in particular, and the protagonist’s ability to show the plight faced by this group from the media’s point of view can be very thought-provoking. There is still darkness under the sun, but there are cracks that let in the light. When there is a price to pay for doing the right thing, it is a difficult choice for each individual, and what is right becomes blurred. In reality, this reporter also resigned, which is also a choice.
This is a thought-provoking film that reveals the harsh realities of society from a reporter’s perspective. Through the reporter’s investigative reporting, the film shows many scenes of the old, the young, the sick and the disabled being taken care of by their families in handicapped homes, exposing the plight and struggles faced by this neglected group. The film is not only a record of the homes for the disabled, but also an appeal to the social conscience. From a journalistic point of view, it reminds us that the duty of the media is not only to report facts, but also to draw the attention and care of the society to the disadvantaged. At the same time, the film also triggers the audience to reflect on the family responsibility and social support system, and calls for the society to pay more attention to the survival and dignity of the disadvantaged groups.
“Old age is a burden” is a very heavy but common social phenomenon. In the film, “Caiqiao House” is not an isolated case, but a true revelation of the plight of the elderly, the sick and the disabled, and how many people have no choice but to accept a life without dignity in order to survive. The mood of watching this film is very heavy and sad. Under the sun, the haze is heavy. As the film says, “Good is not always rewarded with good, and evil is not always rewarded with evil”. Many people try their best to tear away the darkness, but the world remains the same. But the sky will lighten up eventually, and even after the rain, you must have the courage to keep moving forward.
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