Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Papa (2024) (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts | Could you forgive murder?
Film Brain
Follow
09/03/2025
Film Brain reviews this deeply emotional Hong Kong crime drama, based on true events, that asks how do you forgive your kin when they take the rest of your family?
Category
😹
Fun
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
A father has to face the unimaginable in the Hong Kong true crime drama, Papa.
00:05
Sean Lau is a restaurant owner whose world is shattered when his teenage son murders his wife and daughter.
00:11
As he reels from the shock of his loss, Lau tries to connect with his son and try to find a way forward.
00:17
The film was inspired by the Hung Wo Street murder in 2010, and despite the crime's notoriety,
00:22
Where the Wind Blows director Philip Young treats it with a great amount of sensitivity,
00:27
preferring to focus largely on the aftermath than sensationalise the incident itself.
00:32
The film has a purposefully fragmented structure, intercutting the flashbacks before the murders,
00:36
each focusing on a member of the family and meant to evoke the feeling of memory.
00:41
Lau buys himself a digital camera to take photos of his family, reinforcing this idea,
00:45
but also that these frozen happy memories miss the complexities underneath.
00:50
The scenes in the past are vibrant and busy compared to the muted ones in the present,
00:54
giving you a sense of how Lau's successful life has been destroyed in one senseless moment.
00:59
Sean Lau gives a fantastic performance in the lead role, which is as understated as a loss of the film is.
01:06
Lau has this deep well of sadness in his face, and at times is a barely functional shell of a man,
01:11
and it's quietly heartbreaking as he tries to navigate everything that comes after
01:15
in a world that recognises him constantly for the worst day of his life.
01:19
There's only a few moments where his grief rises to the surface,
01:22
like when he gets scammed by an escort or a karaoke scene, which makes them incredibly powerful.
01:28
Lau's everyman makes us ask how we would react in his situation,
01:32
and how would we find the strength to keep going through the darkness.
01:36
Especially challenging for Lau is the meetings with his son, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia
01:41
in an attempt to bridge the distance between them.
01:43
While Lau at times got frustrated raising his son,
01:46
who quietly struggled with his mental health before the crime,
01:49
as a father he refuses to give up on him.
01:52
Lau spends a lot of the film searching for a reason why his son did it,
01:56
but accepting that it's an irrational act of illness is the only way they can both try to heal.
02:02
This is a deeply empathetic film that slowly and thoughtfully examines what tragedy does
02:07
to the ones who survive, without becoming exploitative or maudlin,
02:11
and for those that have the patience, this will linger in your mind for days afterward.
Recommended
2:07
|
Up next
Escape from the 21st Century (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts | Sneeze to the future
Film Brain
07/03/2025
1:00
The Deserving (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts | Not deserving of my recommendation
Film Brain
29/10/2024
2:07
Alone No More (AKA An Abandoned Team) (REVIEW) | Projector #shorts | A dog saves a man's life
Film Brain
21/01/2025
42:59
The... Spoiled... Child / The** Spoiled*** Brat / Unruly son ruined his dad's deal Chinese Drama
BeeLife
29/05/2025
41:37
Even When Our Love Was Over, CEO Kept Hurting Me�But He Didn�t Know I�s Already Over Him Bye, Scum!
Drama Zone
21/04/2025
1:06:45
The Suspenseful Truth ! -We Must Find The Murderer Who Killed Our Parents
Best Shorts
10/07/2025
1:45:27
Mommy, Let Daddy Love You Again
SunSight
13/07/2025
1:49:10
Act Out Your Guilt (Part 1-1)
SunSight
6 days ago
1:58:24
forgiveness died with my parents , Secret Obsession, Reborn reviled and ridiculously loved
NakedFrame
5 days ago
40:21
Never Too Late to Revenge ReelShort
ReelPulse Studios
24/06/2025
2:45:40
After Burying My Parents, I Left Him Cold / Forgiveness Died With My Parents
Reel Tales
5 days ago
1:14:20
The Lost Son Returns As The Duke (2025) - Full Movie
Reel Tales
21/06/2025
26:17
Dumped By Son, Spoiled By Grandson
Reel Tales
3 days ago
1:45:42
Mommy, Let Daddy Love You Again –
Reel Tales
15/07/2025
1:31:08
My Useless Dad Turns Out to Be A Powerhouse shortmintz
SunSight
21/06/2025
55:30
Prometheus P 01 part 1/2
josetristan3236
26/08/2018
4:10
Prometheus P 01 part 2/2
josetristan3236
26/08/2018
21:56
King Of The Hill S10E03
josetristan3236
13/07/2018
2:31
Texas Chainsaw 3D Official Trailer (2012) - Horror Movie HD http://BestDramaTv.Net
Ameliajoline5111
06/04/2017
18:00
Superman (2025) (REVIEW) | Projector | James Gunn saves the Man of Steel
Film Brain
15/07/2025
17:36
Jurassic World: Rebirth (REVIEW) | Projector | How hard is it to make a good Jurassic sequel?
Film Brain
07/07/2025
2:38
Amongst the Wolves (Aiden Gillen) (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts | A film made for just €16,000
Film Brain
04/07/2025
15:45
F1: The Movie (REVIEW) | Projector | A silly (but fun) Pitt stop
Film Brain
02/07/2025
2:46
Hot Milk (Emma Mackey) (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts | A hot mess
Film Brain
29/06/2025
2:34
Protein (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts | Chew on this cannibal crime flick
Film Brain
23/06/2025