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Timeline

Happiness Is… (2015) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2015 · 115 mins · Russian
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Directed by
Artem Prokhorov, Tatyana Gulina
Starring
Evgeniya Dmitrieva, Alexander Petrov, Pavel Priluchnyy, Evgeniy Kharlanov, Svetlana Ivanova, Andrey Merzlikin

Seven good-ending stories for a whole family.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (14)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
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14 events in order · contains spoilers

Happiness Is… Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Happiness Is… (2015) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Chan moves from Guangzhou to Hong Kong after his mother's death

    After his mother's death, Chan Kai-yuk leaves Guangzhou and relocates to Hong Kong in an effort to reconnect with his estranged father. He carries the weight of loss while hoping for a chance to rebuild his family life. The move sets him on a difficult path of housing, work, and belonging in a new city.

    When
    After mother's death
    Where
    Hong Kong
  2. Chan loses his job and becomes homeless

    Chan is sacked from a restaurant, and with mounting bills he cannot afford housing, forcing him to sleep on the streets. The experience of street life exposes him to hardship and the need for help from others. He begins to rely on strangers and to rethink his plan to establish himself in Hong Kong.

    When
    Shortly after arrival
    Where
    Hong Kong streets
  3. Kam helps Chan; Beloved Community Centre offers a lifeline

    Kam, a chef at Beloved Community Centre, finds Chan sleeping rough and offers practical help. The Beloved centre becomes a crucial lifeline, presenting Chan with an opportunity to gain stability and possibly work there. This act of kindness introduces him to a local network of support in the neighborhood.

    When
    Soon after homelessness
    Where
    Beloved Community Centre
  4. Chan secures a residence through Tse with an egg gift

    To qualify for a Beloved job, Chan needs proof of address, so he seeks help from Tse Yuen-fan. After Chan gives Tse a dozen eggs, she agrees to take him as a tenant, providing him a place to live and a path back to stability. The arrangement marks the beginning of his new life under Tse’s quiet, orderly routine.

    When
    After egg gift
    Where
    Tse's home
  5. Chan moves in with Tse and joins Beloved's circle

    Chan officially becomes Tse’s tenant and moves into her modest home. He soon finds himself drawn into the Beloved community’s world, meeting Xiaoyue, a Guangzhou intern, and Fong, a social worker. This new living situation positions him for his eventual work at Beloved and his evolving relationships.

    When
    Soon after moving in
    Where
    Tse's home
  6. Chan starts at Beloved; he likes Xiaoyue but she has a boyfriend

    With a residential address, Chan begins working at Beloved Community Centre on a food-sharing task, alongside Xiaoyue and Fong. He develops a crush on Xiaoyue, but soon learns she is in a relationship, which complicates his feelings. The job strengthens his ties to classmates and Tse, expanding his support network.

    When
    After moving in
    Where
    Beloved Community Centre
  7. Tse is diagnosed with mild cognitive disorder

    Tse undergoes a Mini-Mental State Examination at Beloved and is diagnosed with mild cognitive disorder due to a low score. Chan is initially indifferent to the diagnosis, but his view shifts as Tse begins to lose her sense of direction. The diagnosis triggers Chan’s growing sense of responsibility toward her.

    When
    Early in the Beloved period
    Where
    Beloved Community Centre
  8. Chan’s fear of caregiving leads him to flee, then he returns

    Fearing the burden of caring for Tse, Chan flees the flat when her condition worsens. After seeing Tse search for him in nearby areas, he remembers his late mother and returns to care for her, starting medications to slow the deterioration. This act marks a turning point where Chan accepts the duty of a son.

    When
    After diagnosis
    Where
    Tse's home; surrounding streets
  9. Fat helps Chan find his father and family; the ice-cream moment

    With Fat's help, Chan locates his father and meets his new family, including a younger stepbrother. He secretly takes the boy to an indoor playground and treats him to ice cream, trying to build a connection. The moment foreshadows tensions when family obligations collide with the father's new life.

    When
    After reunion
    Where
    Father's home
  10. A painful hospital incident and estrangement

    Chan takes the younger brother to hospital after a peanut allergy incident, and his angry father lashes out, with the new wife ordering him to sever ties. Chan is left heartbroken and accepts distance, while Tse and Xiaoyue offer comfort. The scene hardens the sense of chosen family around Chan.

    When
    Following the hospital visit
    Where
    Hospital; Father's home
  11. Tse designs a will that binds Chan to care for her

    Tse, realizing her worsening condition, makes a will naming Chan as the inheritor of all her properties, including the flat from her former boss, on the condition that he cares for her as his son. The arrangement cements a family-like bond and gives Chan a new purpose. Tse also leans into her past hobby of drawing as a form of solace.

    When
    Later in the arc
    Where
    Tse's flat
  12. Chan rises in life and Xiaoyue heads home

    Chan settles into a new life with Tse’s support, resuming work at a restaurant while continuing to care for her. Tse draws again and the two form a stable, if unorthodox, family. Xiaoyue returns to Guangzhou, leaving a note that reveals she admired Chan’s devotion to his mother years earlier.

    When
    Later in the arc
    Where
    Hong Kong
  13. Xiaoyue’s Guangzhou return and recognition

    The leaving note hints at a memory of a Guangzhou hospital and how Chan’s care for his mother touched Xiaoyue from afar, a detail he hadn’t realized before. The moment deepens the film’s theme of memory and connection across distance. The story closes on the strength of the bonds formed in Hong Kong.

    When
    End phase
    Where
    Guangzhou
  14. The bonds endure despite romantic outcomes

    Although Xiaoyue’s relationship with her own partner ends, she cherishes the strong bonds formed in Hong Kong, especially the friendship and chosen family among Chan and Tse. The film ends on a note of mutual care, community, and resilience rather than conventional romance.

    When
    End of story
    Where
    Hong Kong

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:03

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Timeline questions answered

Happiness Is… Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Happiness Is… (2015): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Chan leave Guangzhou and go to Hong Kong after his mother's death?

Chan leaves Guangzhou for Hong Kong because he wants to reconnect with his father who abandoned the family and started a new life there. After losing his mother, Chan hopes to rebuild a relationship with his estranged father and find a sense of family in the city.

  • Chan
  • Guangzhou
  • Hong Kong
  • father
  • mother death
  • estranged family
Q2

Why does giving eggs help Chan secure a place to live with Tse?

In Chinese culture, giving eggs as a gift is a traditional gesture of respect and goodwill. When Chan presents Tse with a dozen eggs, it breaks the ice with the wary, practical woman and demonstrates his genuine intent to be a good tenant, convincing her to rent out her spare room.

  • eggs
  • Tse
  • housing
  • tenant
  • Chinese custom
  • gift
Q3

What is Tse's diagnosis and how does it affect her?

Tse is diagnosed with mild cognitive disorder after scoring low on a Mini-Mental State Examination. This condition causes memory loss and disorientation, she eventually gets lost on the street while searching for Chan. It progressively worsens, requiring her to start medication to slow the deterioration.

Foreshadowing: Tse's strict daily routine and careful habits hint at her declining memory even before the diagnosis.

  • Tse
  • mild cognitive disorder
  • dementia
  • memory loss
  • diagnosis
  • MMSE
Q4

Why does Chan leave Tse after her diagnosis?

Chan initially flees because he fears becoming Tse's caretaker, feeling the burden would derail his own life. However, seeing Tse searching for him vulnerable and lost triggers his memory of his late mother, prompting him to return and accept responsibility for her care.

  • Chan
  • Tse
  • caregiver
  • fear
  • responsibility
  • diagnosis
  • abandonment
Q5

What happens with the peanut allergy incident at the hospital?

Chan secretly takes his young stepbrother to an indoor playground and gives him ice cream, not knowing the boy has a severe peanut allergy. The child suffers a medical crisis requiring hospitalization, which enrages Chan's father. Under pressure from his new wife, the father demands Chan sever all ties with the family.

  • peanut allergy
  • hospital
  • stepbrother
  • father
  • ice cream
  • medical emergency
Q6

Why does Chan's father reject him after the hospital incident?

Although the peanut allergy crisis was accidental, Chan's father uses it as justification to cut ties. The father's new wife influences him to blame Chan for the incident, and he chooses to prioritize his new family over reconnecting with his son from the first marriage.

  • father
  • rejection
  • family
  • stepbrother
  • hospital
  • new wife
  • estrangement
Q7

Why does Tse name Chan as her heir in her will?

As Tse's cognitive condition worsens, she chooses to formalize their bond by making Chan her sole heir to all her properties, including the flat she inherited from her former boss. The condition requires him to continue caring for her as if he were her son, creating a legal and emotional framework for their surrogate family relationship.

  • Tse
  • will
  • heir
  • property
  • inheritance
  • caregiver
  • son
  • flat
Q8

What is Xiaoyue's connection to Chan from Guangzhou?

Xiaoyue reveals in her leaving note that she first met Chan years earlier at a Guangzhou hospital, where she witnessed his devoted care for his ailing mother. She admired his steadfast love and compassion even though he didn't recognize her at the time. This memory explains why she was drawn to him when they later worked together at Beloved.

  • Xiaoyue
  • Guangzhou
  • hospital
  • Chan
  • mother
  • memory
  • admiration
  • past connection
Q9

How do Chan and Tse become a family?

Chan and Tse evolve from landlord-tenant to surrogate mother-son relationship through shared daily life, Chan's eventual acceptance of caregiving duties, and Tse's will that legally binds them. Their bond strengthens as Chan cares for her declining health and Tse treats him like family, providing him the belonging he sought.

  • Chan
  • Tse
  • family
  • surrogate mother
  • caregiving
  • bond
  • belonging
  • chosen family
Q10

What happens to Xiaoyue at the end of the movie?

Xiaoyue returns to Guangzhou, ending both her internship at Beloved and her complicated relationship with her partner. However, she leaves a note expressing gratitude for the connections she formed in Hong Kong, particularly the bond between Chan and Tse, which inspired her and gave her hope about human relationships.

  • Xiaoyue
  • Guangzhou
  • departure
  • ending
  • note
  • return
  • relationship

Movie threads

More Movies Like Happiness Is…, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Happiness Is… tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Quiet Found Family Stories like Happiness Is…

Stories where lonely souls build new bonds to heal old wounds. If you liked the hopeful connections in Happiness Is…, explore more movies about found families. These dramas feature characters building supportive bonds to overcome loneliness and hardship, offering a bittersweet but ultimately heartwarming viewing experience.

  • heartwarming
  • melancholic
  • comforting
  • reflective
  • hopeful
  • lonely
  • Tone: bittersweet, hopeful
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows isolated individuals or fractured groups as they slowly, often reluctantly, come together. Conflict arises from internal struggles and past trauma rather than external villains, with the central plot revolving around the gradual, hard-won trust and love that forms their new family.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their shared focus on building familial bonds outside of blood relations. They consistently blend heartwarming warmth with a reflective, sometimes melancholic tone, creating a deeply comforting yet emotionally resonant experience centered on community and belonging.

Bittersweet Life Dramas similar to Happiness Is…

Emotional stories that find hope amid life's inevitable sadness. Find movies like Happiness Is… that explore the bittersweet nature of everyday life. These steady-paced family dramas blend heartfelt emotion with serious themes, offering a reflective and comforting experience for viewers who appreciate nuanced storytelling.

  • bittersweet
  • reflective
  • heartfelt
  • comforting
  • melancholic
  • hopeful
  • Tone: bittersweet, reflective
  • Pacing: steady
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories unfold at a steady pace, interweaving the challenges of daily existence—such as health issues, family dynamics, and personal growth. The journey acknowledges sadness and loss but ultimately emphasizes human connection and the small, redemptive moments that make life meaningful.

Why they belong together: They are united by a specific bittersweet tone and a focus on realistic emotional journeys. The pacing is consistently steady, the intensity medium, and the resolution is never purely happy or sad, but a truthful blend that leaves viewers feeling reflective and comforted.

Every angle

Happiness Is… (2015) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Happiness Is… in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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