As we enter the initial moments of Raymond To's May & August, one can't help to think of familiarity as it's a story of the ordinary people struggling in a war torn reality. It's been done masterfully before (Hong Kong 1941) as well as not so masterfully (1941 Hong Kong On Fire). But by settling on a children's perspective, To gets more out of this story.

He plants fine, poignant train of thoughts about the role of children during this time, doubting their worth and despite having shelter of some sort, they truly feel alone amongst adults not their own. The uplifting spirit of the film takes its rightful place and the titular characters May and August have to adopt their mindsets to a different, higher form of life learning. Whether or not politics and war will rob them of that, remains to be seen. There's some odd, brushed over so called poignancy planted by To in some quite grisly ways early on but he keeps afloat mostly throughout, dishing out emotions in more subtle manner. It may never be truly affecting but Raymond To deserves a slight pad on the back for a job well done despite. Mark Lee's cinematography is an asset, capturing the Chinese landscapes quite dependently.