Rediscovering a Classic: The Unexpected Wisdom in “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father”
During the recent Labor Day holiday, I found myself with some free time and decided to revisit several old movies.
While some of the grand, large-scale commercial films didn’t hold my attention as they once did, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the low-budget, nonsensical comedies.
One film, in particular, resonated with me deeply: “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father” (呆佬拜壽), a 1990s production starring Sean Lau and Jacqueline Wu, released thirty years ago.
This movie, nominated for Best Costume & Design at the 32nd Golden Horse Awards and grossing HK$13.783 million, clearly had an impact in its time.
It showcases Sean Lau at the peak of his acting prowess and charm, and features a rare comedic performance from Jacqueline Wu.
However, being a smaller film, it was primarily enjoyed for its lively, festive, absurd, and humorous elements.
With a happy ending where Chiu Fuk regains his senses, Chiu For faces the consequences of his actions, and Mong Dai finds happiness with her love, the film was primarily seen as a source of good fortune and laughter.
Perhaps director Clifton Ko intended just that – to create a lighthearted, joyful, and funny movie.
Yet, upon revisiting this classic comedy years later, I discovered a deeper meaning. Chiu Fuk’s transformation from an arrogant young master, manipulated by Chiu For into becoming a “fool,” is the very stage where he becomes a genuine person and finds true love.
The “fool,” in the conventional sense, is actually the most “astute.” This is similar to the “idiot” second son in “Red Sorghum Clan,” who possesses the greatest wisdom and foresight within the Kangba chieftain family. He becomes the last chieftain’s heir and witnesses the rise and fall of the chieftain system.
The “fool” or “idiot” in the eyes of many becomes the embodiment of ultimate human wisdom, a profound satire on human greed and selfishness.
An Unlikely Connection: Chiu Fuk and Mong Dai’s Stinky Tofu Encounter
Sean Lau plays Chiu Fuk, the head of the Chiu family in Chiu Ka Town – a spoiled, domineering, and universally disliked young master.
The film opens with Chiu Fuk gambling on cricket fights. Despite losing all but one small cricket, he insists on betting 10,000 yuan against his opponent’s “invincible general,” a guaranteed loss.
Chiu Fuk seals the two crickets together, declaring they’ll wait ten years to see if the “invincible general” survives.
This blatant cheating leaves his opponent with no recourse but to accept the unfair situation.
Chiu Fuk’s catchphrase is “I must win.” He’s cold and ruthless, showing no compassion towards his servants or even his cousin, Chiu For.
However, when all those who flatter and obey him disappear, Chiu Fuk is left with a sense of emptiness and bewilderment. He possesses everything, yet he is not happy.
The two protagonists meet in search of “stink,” connecting over a piece of incredibly pungent stinky tofu on a bridge.
Chiu Fuk, still unwilling to lose, buys the last piece for fifty yuan, only to be confronted by Mong Dai (Jacqueline Wu), who sees through his facade:
From your dark complexion, revealing your unusually pale teeth, your smile appears very fake and superficial. Deep down, you are very empty and unhappy.
Chiu Fuk, accustomed to being praised, has never heard the truth. Mong Dai’s mockery piques his interest. He divides the stinky tofu in half, offering a piece to Mong Dai, marking the beginning of their relationship.
Mong Dai’s “Accidental” Intervention
Mong Dai lives with her gambling-addicted father, her dream is to save enough money to open a shop and find an honest husband for a stable life.
However, her father, played by Yuen Wah, is incredibly eccentric, providing much of the film’s humor.
His promises to Mong Dai are hilariously absurd:
I’m sorry, daughter. But I have a plan! We’ll work harder, travel to two or three more villages, earn money for five, six, or seven years, making eighty or ninety yuan. Then, we’ll settle down somewhere, and I’ll find you a good family, giving you a grand wedding.
Mong Dai knows her father will be a burden, but she can’t bring herself to abandon him.
At this point, Chiu For, the second heir of the Chiu family, approaches Mong Dai’s father, promising them 500 yuan if Mong Dai pretends to marry Chiu Fuk and then gives him a sleeping potion, allowing them to escape.
The temptation of 500 yuan is too great. Moreover, given Chiu Fuk’s notorious reputation, Mong Dai sees this as an opportunity to trick the wealthy son and achieve her life goals in one fell swoop.
Mong Dai agrees to her father’s plan and goes to the Chiu family to marry Chiu Fuk.
However, Chiu Fuk doesn’t take the marriage seriously. He merely seeks a tool to produce an heir, appeasing his widowed mother.
On the wedding day, while playing a game of snatching the floral ball with the townspeople, Chiu For, who has long coveted the position of head of the Chiu family, seizes the opportunity to untie the ropes, causing Chiu Fuk to fall and be knocked unconscious.
Upon waking, Chiu Fuk becomes a “fool.” He drinks the sleeping potion given by Mong Dai and loses consciousness again.
Chiu Fuk’s mother, due to excessive shock, passes away.
From then on, Chiu Ka Town falls into the hands of the more sinister and ruthless Chiu For.
Chiu Fuk, under Chiu For’s machinations, ends up on the streets, where Mong Dai finds him. Out of guilt, Mong Dai takes Chiu Fuk in.
Thus begins a sweet and endearing love story between Chiu Fuk, now a “fool,” and Mong Dai.
Chiu Fuk’s Affection for Mong Dai
The romantic scenes in the film are a highlight, with well-written dialogue and scenarios.
Mong Dai takes Chiu Fuk to buy fabric, and Chiu Fuk calculates faster than the accountant.
On the way back, they encounter a popsicle vendor who shouts:
Buy popsicles, buy popsicles! Eating them guarantees you won’t get heatstroke! If you don’t eat them, I guarantee you’ll get heatstroke, and you’ll deserve it!
Mong Dai wants to eat one but hesitates to buy it. After walking a long distance, Chiu Fuk notices Mong Dai is getting heatstroke, so he runs back and buys a popsicle. By the time he gets it to Mong Dai’s mouth, it has melted to almost nothing.
Mong Dai sucks on the popsicle, and the audience is sweetened by this scene.
Mong Dai wants to sell fabric to a wealthy “gibberish” lady. To pass off inferior goods, she has Chiu Fuk do a fashion show to deceive the “rich woman.”
Chiu Fuk refuses to wear a revealing outfit, saying everyone will laugh at him. Mong Dai coaxes him, saying people laugh at you because they like you.
She then laughs at Chiu Fuk herself, and Chiu Fuk says, “You laugh at me, so you like me too!”
He then changes his clothes.
The gibberish lady becomes infatuated with Chiu Fuk and invites Chiu Fuk and Mong Dai’s father and daughter to her home for a banquet, offering to introduce customers to Mong Dai.
But when Chiu Fuk hears that Mong Dai has fallen into a well, he jumps in without hesitation. When Mong Dai’s father loses the money for buying gold thread and is caught stealing it, Chiu Fuk would rather be beaten than reveal Mong Dai’s father.
Finally, at the last moment when Chiu Fuk is being led away by the gibberish lady, Mong Dai stops Chiu Fuk, issuing a call of love:
Ah Fuk, don’t go!
Chiu Fuk responds: “I’m not leaving!”
This is perhaps the most sincere and pure love. If Chiu Fuk were still the arrogant, combative young master, he would never experience this true love.
Final Thoughts
The film’s ending is also quite ironic.
The “fool” Chiu Fuk wins back the right to be “head of the family.” Just as he is being tricked by the unwilling Chiu For, the cricket he sealed up hits him on the head, and Chiu Fuk returns to being the high and mighty, arrogant young master of the Chiu family.
Chiu For, on the other hand, is hit by Chiu Fuk’s mother’s memorial tablet and turned into a young child, shouting: “I am Xiao Ming, I am five years old this year, I want to study, I want to go to school.”
But in the end, who is the winner in this exchange of lives? This is probably an unsolvable question of the century!
It’s like asking, is it happier to be a little foolish or a little shrewd in life? It’s just as unanswerable!
Chiu Fuk’s days as a fool are not empty at all, but very real.
He calculates faster than the accountant.
He memorizes the “Sewing Guide,” while Mong Dai and her father are dizzy and unable to memorize it, Chiu Fuk memorizes it fluently.
More importantly, Chiu Fuk finds the simplest and most innocent essence of life.
He is very clear about what he wants and doesn’t want: he loves Mong Dai and will follow her to the ends of the earth, no matter how unworthy Mong Dai may have been in the past.
He doesn’t like the gibberish lady and keeps her at a distance, no matter how rich and powerful she is, and how many relatives she has.
In this light, Chiu Fuk, the fool, is many times wiser than many who consider themselves shrewd.
Is it better to live straight or to be devious? This is probably also an ultimate proposition.
In the end, the film still allows Chiu Fuk to return to his original self, with wealth and fame. The piece of stinky tofu he eats with Mong Dai on the “Magpie Bridge” is probably the most beautiful imagination of people!