Little Big Master

Little Big Master (五個小孩的校長)

Credit: Apple Daily

The Little Big Master is premiered on March 2015. With cast Miriam Yeung and Louis Koo as main character, this movie was inspired by real story of a kindergarten principle, Lui Wai-hung.

Unlike many other movies in Hong Kong, this movie mostly omits the cityscape. Instead, it puts lot more emphasis on rural scape while the city life becomes secondary. From the background of those five children’s parents, they also reflects the social reality of decoding countryside, marginalised ethnic minorities and exploited grassroot employees. While all these are happening in real life, the rural village and kindergarten shelter students and their parents from harshness. The Cantonese version of Auld Lang Syne ends this movie. It is frequently used for school graduation ceremony in Hong Kong. Such common practice tries to recall collective memories in school life and good old days. This rural life is something that city dwellers dream for and they find satisfaction from this movie.

This movie’s genre is more likely a memoir or biography that narrates the education experience of Principle Lui. Through the third person narrative, we can explore the underneath mind of Lui and her students. The planned closure of Yuen Tin Kindergarten widely spread as they tried to hire a “multi-tasking” principle in just four thousand Hong Kong dollars salary. On one hand, genre gives a channel for framing context which assist readers’ understanding on the movie (Chandler 1980). Before watching the movie, film title and leaflet give a general idea of this film. This helps to coordinate viewers’ choice and expectation, similar to Corner suggested (1991). On the other hand, Louis Koo, who mostly appears in crime and comedy films, give a contradictory but fresh impression to the audience. The role of Koo helps audience to explore the mind of the principle.

Chandler also assets that genres offered various emotional pleasures, including empathy and escapism (1997). In this movie, the producer tries to highlight the simple and innovative education in rural kindergarten and contrast it with the harsh and highly-competitive city life in Hong Kong. While every citizen is living at the bottom of a hierarchical society, the movie tries to be optimistic on the next generation, despite the society pressurized children to be success. The empathy on marginalized and minorities children also elevates viewers’ involvement and engagement in this movie. Especially in the movie, when students ask their parents what their dream are, they immediately refuses to speak out because of unrealistic and childish. But eventually, they are willing to tell because of their children. This reminds all audience that everyone once has their dream, but because of city reality and personal ability, it does not come true. Still, this film tries to bring out the message that it is nothing wrong to have dream.

Chandler, D. (1997). Introduction to genre theory. Retrieved from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/chandler_genre_theory.pdf

Chna Wing Hong (10554213/21620317)