Tian mi mi (1996)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Peter Chan

Writer:

Ivy Ho (writer)

Release Date:

2 November 1996 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Jun arrives in Hong Kong from mainland China, hoping to be able to earn enough money to marry his girlfriend back home...

Plot Keywords:

Hong Kong | Love | First Love

Awards:

22 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Leon Lai	...	XiaoJun Li
Maggie Cheung	...	Qiao Li
Eric Tsang	...	Pao Au-Yeung
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Len Berdick	...	U.S. Immigration Officer
Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Yue Ding
Christopher Doyle	...	English Teacher
Michelle Gabriel
Irene Tsu	...	Aunt Rosie
Kristy Yang	...	XiaoTing Li

Also Known As:

Comrades: Almost a Love Story (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title)
Tim mat mat (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

Canada:118 min | Taiwan:116 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Finland:S | Sweden:7

Company:

Golden Harvest Company

Trivia:

"Tian Mimi" is also the name of the song played throughout the film sung by Teresa Teng. The literal translation is "Sweet Honey" but figuratively, it means a good, warm, loving, close relationship.

Goofs:

Factual errors: It is wrong for XiaoJun Li, a mainlander to refer to his not-yet-married girlfriend XiaoTing as "AiRen" which means "wife" to Mainland Chinese (at least at the time of the movie) but means "lover" to HK and Taiwan Chinese.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sepet (2004)

A Wonderful Film

This movie is delightful from start to finish. Although some of the coincidences and chance meetings are highly improbable (both going to NYC? Both watching the same TV set at the same time?), they cannot spoil what is a genuinely touching and moving experience.

Instead of a the usual scenario where two people try desperately to find love, the two leads, Li Chiao (Maggie Cheung) and Li Xiao Jun (Leon Lai), try desperately to avoid it. Both Mainlanders, she has come to Hong Kong to make her fortune; he has come to earn enough money to marry his long-time fiancée back on the Mainland. Through a brief meeting in a McDonalds where Li Chiao works one of her several part-time jobs, and Xiao Jun has come to experience the unknown-in-his-hometown food, they become friends. They discover a shared love for the songs of Taiwanese singer Teresa Tang, which become the soundtrack to their relationship. Both are lonely, and gradually they form a genuine friendship, then a not-so-casual intimate relationship. Their struggle to remain true to their original goal in coming to Hong Kong leads to an emotional crisis for both them and their partners. The struggle takes place over a ten year period, during which they separate only to keep bumping into one another and reopening old wounds. The resolution of this struggle is sweet indeed.

The lead actors are both exceptional, particularly Leon Lai, who always seemed to be playing a variation on himself until this film. He is completely believable as the naive and trusting Xiao Jun, and Maggie Cheung is, as ever, radiant and affecting. The songs of Teresa Tang are used to great effect, one of which gives the film it's title (Tian mi mi, the title of the Chinese version, roughly translates as Sweet Like Honey).

Loses a point for the number of coincidences, but otherwise unreservedly recommended.