Hong Kong’s colourful neon signs were once a glittering symbol of the city’s vibrancy; now they are rapidly disappearing, replaced with cheaper options like LED lights. Vanishing alongside these jewels of the night are their creators, passionate artisans whose metier is now obsolete. Steeped in this atmosphere of nostalgia and loss, Anastasia Tsang’s feature debut is a heartfelt love letter to these forgotten craftsmen as well as a bygone Hong Kong whose light continues to linger amid socio-political change.
Grappling with generational differences, Tsang negotiates a well-intentioned but conventional plot that trades in familiar archetypes. Mei-hsiang (Sylvia Chang), the grieving widow of a master neon maker, clings on to his workshop, a sentimental attachment that stands in stark contrast to her level-headed daughter Prism (Cecilia Choi), who has already made plans to leave for Australia. While the film often relies on cliches to express their clash of personalities, Chang and Choi consistently rise above the broad strokes of their characters, suggesting a love that runs deep beneath a tense mother-and-daughter bond.
The veteran Chang beautifully conveys Mei-hsiang’s strength as well as fragility with nuance; aided by workshop apprentice Leo (Henick Chou), Mei-hsiang vows to finish her husband’s final commission to restore an old neon sign, despite her lack of technical knowledge. Wholly idealistic in nature, the lofty project reflects a determination to maintain the city’s cultural identity and contextualised by allusions to adverse events from recent decades, such as the Sars pandemic, Mei-hsiang’s attempts to keep the past alive are especially moving in their community building potential.
Detailing the careers of the real-life artisans behind the city’s most famous billboards, the end credits are a fascinating mini-lesson on the legacy of neon signage in Hong Kong. It is a shame that this important history was not woven more prominently into the plot.
• A Light Never Goes Out is released on 12 May in UK cinemas.
