Sunshine of My Life (2021)

An amazingly touching story

I did not have any idea what I would be watching when I watched this movie, but I did not expect to end up feeling the way I did at the end of it. I really liked this film and it tells its story extremely well.

This movie is based on the true life events of a couple of blind parents who decided to have a baby together and raise the baby. They have a daughter and the daughter can see just fine, but the hardships they all go through were really tangible and it constantly pulled at my heart strings. The first scene in the movie really sets the tone for the entire movie, you’ll have to watch it to understand but let’s just say I won’t be leaving my rice cooker electrical cables hanging off the side.

Kara Wai and Hugo Ng were really great in their roles as the mother and father, especially Kara as she had the mannerisms mastered in a way that had me convinced she was blind. Even the eye movements were eerily accurate. She is an over-protective mother in a time when there were no mobile phones and blind people didn’t have as many technological advancements we take for granted today, and I just loved her performance. Hugo Ng had an easier time as he had his eyes closed the entire movie, but you can see how he tries to uphold his own sense of self-worth and dignity while trying to earn money for his family. The scenes where the husband and wife interact were very touching and really felt like a couple who had been married and in love for decades.

Karena Ng plays the teenaged daughter and I thought she did a fantastic job in the role. She doesn’t want people knowing she has blind parents in fear of being bullied about it, and she cannot really mingle with her friends properly because of the responsibilities given to her as the seeing daughter of blind parents. The conflicts between these aspects of her life coupled with teenaged hormones made for some intense scenes when it all comes to a head.

Overall, this is a great movie. It won’t be for everybody that’s for sure, but I really loved the family aspect it brings and that genuinely, in the end, family really does matter.

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