Tao jie (2011)

After suffering a stroke, an altruistic maid announces that she wants to quit her job and move into an old people's home.

Director:

Ann Hui

Writers:

Susan Chan, Yan-lam Lee

Stars:

Andy Lau, Deannie Yip, Lawrence Ah Mon

28 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Andy Lau	...	Roger
Deannie Yip	...	Ah Tao (as Deanie Ip)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lawrence Ah Mon	...	Ah Chun - Roger's high school buddy
Angelababy	...	Guest at Premiere (as Angela Baby)
Tyson Chak	...	Air-conditioning Fixer
Chi-san Chan	...	Jason (as Jason Chan)
Dennis Chan	...	Vincent
Wing-Chiu Chan	...	Guest at Premiere
Sui-man Chim	...	Roger's high school buddy
Raymond Chow	...	Himself
Queenie Chu	...	Receptionist at Investment Bank
Paul Chun	...	Uncle Kin
Pik Kee Hui	...	Aunt Kam
So-ying Hui	...	Mui
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Director Hung

Storyline

After suffering a stroke, an altruistic maid announces that she wants to quit her job and move into an old people's home.

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Plot Keywords:

old people's home | stroke | hong kong | urban | cameo appearance | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English Mandarin

Release Date:

9 March 2012 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

A Simple Life

Box Office

Budget:

CNY 30,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bona International Film Group, Focus Films, Sil-Metropole Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film received a small release in Hong Kong in September 2011 in order to qualify for the 84th Annual Academy Awards. However it didn't get a wide release in the same country until March 2012.

User Reviews

HK Neo Reviews: A Simple Life 桃姐 (2011) – Hong Kong

I seriously do not know why it took this movie so long to be in the cinemas. It is one of the defining works of the year and essentially a simple movie about simple and unexplored characters of Hong Kong people. Ms Ann Hui is truly at her very best once again. After winning awards for The Way We Were, Hui strikes the cord to the highest potential by casting Andy Lau and former box office queen of 80s Deanie Ip whose chemistry dates back to almost 23 years old in their last corroboration. It is truly a delight to sit through a movie like this and while this being one Hui's most accepted work to the general public; she never strays away from her principles and values. At its core, it is a film about human interactions, feelings, relationships and old age. One day, we will die and old age is a burning topic for the baby boomer's generation.

Deanie Ip puts in a career defining performance and as she puts it, acting as an old lady is not difficult at all, as she is just playing herself. The manner she manages to make the audience enjoy her character the Chinese servant of Hong Kong family for 3 generations is impressive to say the least. Life is never easy and sometimes, we just tend to forget those people who work their life within behind the scene, with heart, soul and pure dedication. These are people who gave up on having a family of their own and instead spend their whole life raising other people's families. Nowadays, the loyalty and the servant and master relationships are a lot more different. As mentioned before, Ip's characters work so well because there is an underlying chemistry between Andy Lau and her. Lau puts in an underrated performance that doesn't allow him to overshadow the main character. It is a compliment that it is because of the understated manner Lau manages to approach his character that allows Deanie Ip's the spotlight and attention.

A Simple Life has already won a lot of awards and not to mention plenty of admiration from a new league of fans young and old. Hui has been around a long time and has never strayed from the commercialism of Hong Kong cinema. To finally witness an Ann Hui film making splash at the box office is really as a good a feeling as watching a fine piece of cinema. In many ways this is a true and realistic look at simple aspects of life, characters and old age. It is this simplistic that makes Hui's films so different, enjoyable and ultimately touching. All in all, A Simple Life is a Hong Kong movie and more importantly a movie that takes us along the ride, respects those around us and allows the audience to reflect upon their own lives. Movies like these only comes along once in a generation and while this may not be Hui's best work, but in terms of balancing the needs of the Hong Kong people and her own vision, it is certainly the most accessible of her works. A fine piece of cinematic experience…

Neo rates it 9/10

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