We moved across the ocean with a dream of a better life.
This sums up the immigrant story of my parents, and I’m sure it does for many others in Canada. To build a new life in a new land is an ongoing journey filled with challenges and sacrifice. In most success stories, they are framed to be worth it. But what about the unsuccessful stories, or the stories-in-progress?
Timothy Yeung 楊永光’s debut feature Finch & Midland 今天應該很高興 tells the story of Hong Kong immigrants and diaspora through a grounded, unflinching lens. The Toronto Reel International Asian Film Festival will present the movie at 3:30 p.m. on November 9 at TIFF Lightbox C2. The four main characters are immigrants who came over to Canada in the 90s, each in their mid-life struggles of family, riches, and dreams.
“A lot of it was inspired by true events of people I grew up with, and people I spoke with,” Yeung said when I spoke to him through a Zoom interview. “Everybody is somewhat based on an amalgamation of many people.”
Dan (played by Patrick Tam 譚耀文) used to be a singer in Hong Kong. Now he is a deadbeat host at a Chinese restaurant who clings onto his pride as much as he clings onto his bottle. Fan (played by Theresa Lee 李綺虹) works two jobs, the grocery store and the massage parlour, while chasing a dream of becoming a realtor to give her daughter a brighter future.
Eva (played by Harriet Yeung 楊詩敏) searches fruitlessly for love while caring for her mother, who favours her brother instead. Tony (played by Anthony Wong 黃秋生) is the floor supervisor at the factory, proud of breaking the glass ceiling despite the divide it creates between himself, his peers, and his family.
The faded edges of the promised dream are prevalent. I see this most clearly in Tony. He speaks good English, has a stable financial income, and is able to navigate work politics. But his spacious house is empty and cold. His Caucasian boss gives him the dirty work of laying off the labourers, some of whom still communicate with him in Cantonese. This leads to feelings of betrayal and isolation.
The illusion of achieving the dream is broken by the consequences of the sacrifices made. From the outside, Tony seems ahead of the curve, but in the process, we can see what he has given up: his ability to speak his truth in turn for his pride.
This sense of loss permeates the characters’ lives—from Eva’s missed love connections, to Fan’s difficult choices between her dignity and her aspirations. Often I feel that, to gain the freedom that Western society promotes, we as immigrants have to let go of things: tradition, language, passports. This collection of little lives doesn’t shy away from the loss that comes with each difficult choice made in the name of “a better future”.
But Finch & Midland skillfully balances the melancholy of loss with the resilience of each character.
Eva’s endless attempts at finding a suitor reminds us that a successful life is not just about being financially stable. There’s an anxiety about growing old alone in this country. Adding another layer to her loneliness, she is the one showing up to care for her mother, but her mother only asks after her absent brother. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of a female character that actively pursues her own version of happiness while bearing the weight of familial duties.
Meanwhile, Fan’s struggle against harassment underscores the loneliness of the immigrant experience. Seeking help is one of the hardest things to do as a newcomer to this country; in addition to language barriers or racism, there is also the matter of pride. Fan’s every decision is made with her future in mind—even when she has to get her hands dirty, her quiet perseverance makes her easy to root for.
The film does an excellent job depicting each character as a fully fleshed-out person complete with unlikable flaws and admirable grit. Even at their lowest lows, they are portrayed with respect. Dan, for example, as someone who cannot let go of his past glory to fully live for his new life, makes some poor choices in the film. The potential for a new tomorrow is there, but the ask to give up the nostalgia of yesterday sometimes feels like too much.
It is reassuring to see racialized characters that are multi-faceted on screen, especially with the increase of Asian diaspora in Canada today. Amidst the narratives provided by mainstream media where Asian immigrants are dubbed the “model minority” at best, these characters feel like an honest reflection of our neighbours, friends, and family.
In Finch & Midland, spoken Cantonese immediately ties the characters to their shared community, even if they never truly speak to each other. English is used to signify status, something Tony wields as privilege, something Fan works hard in mastering to reach greener meadows. The Cantopop soundtrack not only complements Dan’s storyline but also resonates with this generation of immigrants, who may associate the music and language with a home they left behind.
This hit home for me: In Cantonese, Tony is able to express himself honestly. It is the immigrant experience of navigating between the mother tongue and the language you need to survive.
“It’s so important that these stories are recognized,” Yeung said about language choice in the film. “There’s something about being at home, you speak a certain language with your family… I think as long as it’s done with the perspective of the character, and we’re not just adding on the language to fulfill a quota.”
I was curious about the script itself, flipping between several languages. Yeung revealed that he actually wrote it in English first, and worked together with native speakers and writing partners, including the executive producer Ridley Tsui 徐寶華, to ensure the authenticity of the Cantonese.
“When they were reading, they said it was very clear that it’s Cantonese,” Yeung said. “Everyone could already feel—I grew up with such a huge Cantonese family and I speak Cantonese pretty fluently. Everyone’s like, yeah, it’s very obvious that this is this idiom, right?”
The English title Finch & Midland is a nod to Toronto locals. Yeung explained that it’s a place where the community always gathers. The film was also shot around that area. Even if the streets and buildings have changed in the last decade, the sense of belonging remains.
“It’s where we come together,” said Yeung. “This is kind of like the starting point, this is where a lot of people came in the 90s. Even twenty, thirty years later, a lot of people are still in this. Even though they’re all from different economic backgrounds, we just use this intersection for this place, and this community.”
For Yeung, the film’s Chinese title translated to “Today should be a perfect day.” It’s a universal feeling: trying so hard to make your dreams a reality, only to fall short, and watch as it slips through your fingers once again. The taste of disappointment is familiar—but so is the act of swallowing that disappointment, picking yourself up, and continuing onwards.
Yeung said that he is greatly inspired by director Lee Chang-dong. “He’s always said that he makes films for the people within his community. So they know that they’re being presented properly.
“I hope that when people watch the film—even if [they’re] not within the community—they’re going to notice next time if they go to a Chinese grocery store, or if they go to a Chinese restaurant, or if they go somewhere, that they’re like, ‘Oh! We’re not just a background thing. This is actually a person that might have a story, too.’”
I won’t spoil the endings for our four characters, but I will say that audience interpretation is invited. Each journey reminded me that we are all making our choices every day, sometimes battling hardships, and sometimes conquering our own potentials.
“The film is over, but their lives are not over,” Yeung said.
Whether the next day is a perfect one or not, it’s up to us to decide.
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival offers in-theatre screenings from November 5 to 15 and cross-Canada online screenings from November 10 to 23. It will present Finch & Midland at 3:30 p.m. on November 9 at TIFF Lightbox C2. For tickets and more information, visit the festival website. Learn more about the communities that make up Canada on the Toronto Spark website.
