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We Are Family
Movie

We Are Family

2024 • Unknown

Woke Score
1.4
out of 10

Plot

“Rent-a-Family” specializes in offering family and friends for rent. The company consists of Carlos, the founder; Catherine, the drama coach; and Chi Kwong, the passionate small-time actor. Carlos and Catherine disapprove of Chi Kwong's overwhelming care for their clients, but they begin to rethink the meaning of "Rent-a-Family" when they see the results of Chi Kwong's kindness...

Overall Series Review

The film "We Are Family" is a Hong Kong comedy-drama centered on a company that rents out temporary family members to lonely clients. The narrative follows the staff, particularly the passionate actor Chi Kwong, as his genuine emotional investment in the clients forces the company's founder, Carlos, and the coach, Catherine, to reconsider their purely transactional approach. The story is a straightforward, sentimental exploration of human connection, the meaning of family, and the emotional vacuum in modern society, ultimately affirming the profound value of familial bonds and kindness over cynicism. It focuses on universal themes of loss, belonging, and the healing power of empathy. The plot involves temporary role-playing of traditional roles like husband, father, and grandson, but the underlying message is the necessity and emotional importance of these structures for human well-being. The movie does not engage with Western cultural debates, intersectional politics, or sexual ideology.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The film is a Hong Kong production featuring an entirely East Asian cast, meaning the criteria of vilification of 'whiteness' or 'race-swapping' are irrelevant. The story focuses squarely on the characters' individual emotional struggles, merit (as actors/performers of kindness), and universal themes of family and loneliness, which aligns with the universal meritocracy ideal.

Oikophobia1/10

The central theme is the search for and reaffirmation of family bonds, which is a core social institution. The narrative presents loneliness as a problem to be solved by connection, not a fundamental corruption of the home culture. The film is set in a specific cultural context (Hong Kong) but does not include any self-hatred or demonization of its own civilization or Western civilization.

Feminism2/10

The core female character, Catherine, is a single mother who serves as the company's acting coach and is depicted as a dependable mother. Her career supports her daughter, and the narrative celebrates the maternal and familial relationships she and other characters take on. Masculinity is not emasculated; Chi Kwong is the emotional heart, and Carlos is the business-minded founder. There is no anti-natalist or "Girl Boss" messaging; the focus is on the warmth of traditional family roles.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative centers on clients seeking traditional family roles—'husband,' 'wife,' 'father,' 'grandson'—affirming the normative structure of the nuclear family as a source of emotional fulfillment. Sexuality is not a plot point, and there is no introduction or lecturing on alternative sexual or gender ideology, keeping the score at the lowest end.

Anti-Theism2/10

The film is focused on emotional and secular-humanist values such as kindness, empathy, and the importance of human connection. The narrative does not contain any criticism, hostility, or discussion of organized religion, Christian characters, or moral relativism as a philosophical tenet. The morality that wins out is an objective, transcendent one based on emotional truth and good deeds, earning a low score.