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Edmund Lee

3/5 stars
Lawrence Cheng Tan-shui plays a miserable elderly man who rediscovers his purpose in life after being rescued by a stray dog during a failed suicide attempt in An Abandoned Team, a feel-good story that just about stays on the tasteful side of sentimental thanks to its lead actors’ genuine performances.
Marking the veteran Hong Kong entertainer’s first leading role since 2017’s The Yuppie Fantasia 3, An Abandoned Team opens with a depressing scene in which Kai (Cheng) tries to hang himself in the woods, only to be saved when a mongrel lingering around the neighbourhood runs away to seek help on his behalf.
A cantankerous recluse who hides in his remote home in rural Sai Kung, Kai has been leading a solitary existence since he was forced to retire from his long-time job. He is also estranged from his daughter, Zoie (Fish Liew Chi-yu), even though it was his wife’s infidelity that broke up the family all those years ago.


Everything changes for Kai when he bonds with his canine saviour, who shares his appetite for eating roast pig – and is thus named Roast Piggy – and befriends dog rescue volunteer Una (Amy Lo Wai-man, Tales from the Occult: Ultimate Malevolence); working at her nearby animal shelter soon becomes Kai’s new pastime.
There are undercurrents in Una’s life, however: not only is she alienated from her mother (Patra Au Ga-man), but she is also struggling to reconcile her boyfriend’s (Jay Fung Wan-him) plans to move abroad for his family business with her determination to stay behind for the abandoned dogs in her care.
An Abandoned Team begins as a wholesome tale about the healing power of man’s best friend, switches gears halfway to focus on Kai and Una’s struggles to mend fences respectively with his daughter and her boyfriend, before culminating in a poorly developed mystery involving a dog poisoner wrecking havoc in the village.
It is a predictably life-affirming experience that leaves little to the imagination, although writer-directors Thomas Lee Chi-wai and Daniel Ho Ying-ngai – both experienced assistant directors who are making their feature directing debut – deserve credit for even crafting a watchable film out of such corny ideas.

Although dog-lovers are destined to make up most of its audience in any case, An Abandoned Team is undeniably carried by Cheng’s convincing turn as the deceptively abrasive protagonist.
He is ably supported by Lo, in her first leading role, while Liew, as she often does, lends a great deal of poignancy to her otherwise underwritten part.
If you have suicidal thoughts or know someone who is experiencing them, help is available. In Hong Kong, you can dial 18111 for the government-run Mental Health Support Hotline. You can also call +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.
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Get ready for a corny but wholesome story about a cantankerous old man whose bond with a dog opens a door to more new connections


Get ready for a corny but wholesome story about a cantankerous old man whose bond with a dog opens a door to more new connections.


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Review | An Abandoned Team movie review: Lawrence Cheng bonds with stray dog in feel-good drama

Get ready for a corny but wholesome story about a cantankerous old man whose bond with a dog opens a door to more new connections