Run Papa Run is the tale of a Triad Boss trying to conceal his true identity from his young daughter, worried that by her finding out about what he really does for a living, she will be ashamed by him.
When the film first starts, I thought we would be in for another comedy film (still hoping to replicate the enjoyment of Sophie’s Revenge), but what the film delivers was something different. Yes, the film gave me enjoyment, but it also gave me a variety of other emotions, such as shock, upset and hurt; a feat that none of the other East Asian Film Society films had yet achieved. After the first comedic scene of the film, it then moves into the funeral of the main character, Tin-Yun. The events that lead up to his death are played in sequence, which meant that we, as the audience, don’t find out what caused his death until the end of the film. Throughout the film, we see Tin-Yun fall in love with a lady that eventually becomes his wife. Tin-Yun still manages to work as a member of the Triad whilst married, but as soon as his daughter is born, he begins to have doubts about his job. At first he refuses to get close to his daughter; he won’t even cradle her when she awakes form her sleep in the middle of the night. But this isn’t because he has no love for her, it is because he doesn’t want her to get hurt, and he fears that with the job he does, that will happen. However, events changes and we see Tin-Yun give into his paternal instincts, and he develops a great sense of love for his daughter. As he ages, so does his daughter, yet the close bond between daughter and father still remain. Tin-Yun is also promoted to Triad leader, which means does he not only have responsibility for his wife and daughter, he is also responsible for the reputation of the criminal underworld.
When Tin-Yun’s daughter reaches her teenage years, she begin to date a boy that she was friends with as a young child. Tin-Yun doesn’t approve, but when does any father approve when his daughter starts dating boys? When he realises his daughter is not a little girl anymore, he accepts his daughter’s relationship. But more problems follow. After a row between mother-father-daughter, Tin-Yun’s wife leaves home, leaving their daughter to live with Tin-Yun. When Tin-Yun realises he still wants to be a part of his wife’s life and his daughter’s, he sets about trying to relieve him of his Triad duties. However, when he has to complete one last job, things takes a turn for the worst. In the middle of a drug raid aboard an at-sail boat, Tin-Yun is shot in the crossfire, falls into the sea and sadly dies. Then the film switches to the present day, when Tin-Yun’s friends and family are all present at his funeral.
The reason this film filled me with conflicting emotions is because of the issues the film deals with. It deals with love, loss, death, misery, happiness, to name but a few. Also, Tin-Yun was a lost soul. He didn’t intend to fall in love and get his wife pregnant, nor did he expect to love his baby as much as what he did. But when his daughter was born, he was no longer lost; he now had something to live for. The tragic part is that he realised this before it was too late.
