True Women for Sale

The film introduces Lai Chung-Chung and Wong Lin-Fa as two women living amid Sham Shui Po's gritty streets. They struggle to survive while haunted by histories they can't escape. Their parallel paths set the stage for a story about survival, resilience, and the hope of a better future.

Lai Chung-Chung is a crack cocaine-addicted street walker who navigates the market and back alleys with grit and warmth. She survives on the street while trying to keep her life from spinning out of control. She begins saving money for a dentistry procedure to repair years of damage from drugs.

Freelance photographer Chi witnesses Lai’s heroic act when she saves a child from being hit by a van and decides to document it. He starts photographing Lai as part of a potential human-interest story for a magazine. His project introduces Lai to the public eye and foreshadows how her life will be observed.

During Elaine’s interview with Lai, Lai’s troubled past with her mother and younger sister is revealed, adding depth to her choices. The revelations shed light on the ways addiction and survival shaped her life. The media attention grows as a result, even as Lai remains wary.

Wong Lin-Fa travels to Hong Kong after learning Kin died in a work accident, pregnant with Kin’s child. She hopes to collect condolence money and secure a future through residency. Her hopes are tempered when Kin's family offers only HK$5,000 and dismisses her as a golddigger, forcing her to reconsider her plans.

After Kin’s death, Wong moves into Kin’s apartment building where many prostitutes live. Kin’s family ejects her, and she becomes part of the unlikely community within that building. The shared space becomes a setting for her ongoing quest for acceptance and residency.

Insurance broker Lau Fu-Yi informs Wong that Kin had bought life insurance with Wong as the sole beneficiary. He begins to offer help with birth and residency in exchange for selling the insurance. His discovery starts to reshape Wong’s prospects and the stakes of her stay in Hong Kong.

Lau classifies Lai and Chi as having zero potential for insurance, while evaluating Wong at about US$2 million. This 'numbers-first' view reduces people to monetary value and guides his interactions with them. The moment highlights the film’s critique of transactional charity in a survival economy.

Chi continues to pursue Lai as a subject for his photo essay, fascinated by her resilience. Elaine, now a journalist, interviews Lai and helps shape the public narrative around her. The two women's lives move in parallel, with little direct crossing of paths.

Lai remains focused on saving for dental work and maintaining her street life in expectation of a possible turning point in 2000. She endures the daily grind of street survival while clinging to the hope of reform. The impending prophecy of 2000 adds a layer of superstition to her decisions.

Wong’s bid for residency centers on giving birth in Hong Kong and leveraging Kin’s life insurance. She faces prejudice, poverty, and immigration hurdles along the way. Lau’s involvement offers a route but ties her fortunes to the insurance framework.

Both women live in the same apartment building, sharing environments and social pressures while pursuing different paths to better lives. Their stories run in parallel and rarely intersect, emphasizing the film's focus on two separate journeys. The setting underscores how society constrains and shapes their choices.