Yi ma de hou xian dai sheng huo (2006)

Director:

Ann Hui

Writers:

Ann Hui (writer)
Qiang Li (writer)

Release Date:

6 March 2007 (China)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A swindler falls in love with a potential target. |

Plot Keywords:

Middle Age | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Female | Postmodern | Based On Novel

Awards:

9 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	Pan Zhichang
Gaowa Siqin	...	Ye Rutang
Wei Zhao	...	Liu Dafan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Qi Chen	...	Alzheimer Old Woman
Qingzhuo Fang
Wenshuo Guan	...	Kuan-kuan
Gang Jiao	...	Guo Feng
Lisa Lu	...	Mrs. Shui
Ke Shi	...	Jin Yonghua
Yi Wang	...	Nurse B
Ziwen Wang	...	Fei-fei
Zhi-Hua Zhang	...	Nurse A

Also Known As:

The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (Canada: English title) (International: English title)

Runtime:

Canada:111 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Anshan, Liaoning, China

Company:

Beijing Poly-bona Film Publishing Company

Quotes:

Guo Feng: I always said I'd do great things or I'd do nothing.
Liu Dafan: Great things get lost! Get out!
Guo Feng: I will take you abroad one day!
Liu Dafan: Why am I still here? I was an idiot to choose you! All you do is brag!
Guo Feng: Brag? Didn't I get you that job? As a cook at Yuekai Hotel.
Liu Dafan: Give me a break! How many years have I been cooking? Am I supposed to cook my whole life away?
Guo Feng: What's wrong with that? Don't get fancy ideas.
Liu Dafan: Get lost, I'm through with you! Get lost! And don't come back!
Guo Feng: Who the hell are you!... Liu Dafan, give me back my platinum necklace.
[...]

Postmodern disappointment

The Postmodern Life of My Aunt is not a comedy, as the ads, and the poster, would suggest. Instead it's a depressing story of how a woman's life slides downhill.

I had other problems with the film as well. As someone who has lived in China for seven years, I can definitely say Siqin Gaowa seemed too dowdy to be a Shanghai woman, and Chow Yun-Fat looked too suave and sophisticated to be a middle-aged Mainland man. I also didn't see the point of the young boy's character, although I guess it is an Ann Hui trope (if that's the right word) to have a character's story told through the eyes of a kid. He was a real cypher, and was barely in the film at all. How could he even know that stuff about his aunt? Using the child's perspective in Song of the Exile worked well, but not here at all. I also couldn't buy Vicki Zhao Wei in her role, and her appearance and back story came so out of the blue that it almost seemed like a joke.

All in all, a big disappointment, but I wouldn't have been so upset about it if the film's advertisements didn't make it look like a comedy. I really dislike when advertisers pull people into a film under false pretenses. If it is a tragedy, fine, advertise it as a tragedy. Just don't mislead audiences.