A gentle, yet emotional, drama about love and language.


After the death of her son Kai (Andrew Leung), Junn (Cheng Pei Pei) spends her days idly, mournfully in the retro-styled retirement home that she was left in. She feels abandoned, and whilst she entertains herself with the company of a fellow tenant - Alan (Peter Bowles) - there's a constant sorrow that lingers through her days.


It isn't exactly lifting by the arrival of Richard (Ben Whishaw), her son's partner, who even when Kai was alive was something of an unwelcome presence in her family dynamic. Additionally, Richard is at once trying to make a connection with Junn, whilst dealing with his grief, and an inability to express exactly why because Kai never had a chance to come out to his mother.


Richard enlists Vann (Naomi Christie) to translate for him, as Junn doesn't speak English, so that he can try and heal both their wounds.


A showcase for Ben Whishaw's tender, fragile performance, and a powerful, stoic turn by Cheng Pei Pei, both managing to capture and bottle a sense of great loss and tragedy without resorting to histrionics and melodrama.


This film is a sweetly sad story, that deals in subdued, truthful moments. It is an honest, occasionally heart-wrenching, at times funny and awkward, depiction of loss directed confidently by Hong Khaou - making his feature debut. London is shot muted, magically and romantically by Urszula Pontikos, giving this small film a beautiful, haunting quality.