Eve and the Fire Horse (2005)

Chinese-Canadian Eve Eng was born in 1966, in the year of the fire horse. In Chinese culture, fire horse children are notorious for being troublesome. In 1975, nine year old Eve is looking ... See full summary »

Director:

Julia Kwan

Writers:

Julia Kwan, Yipeng Ben Lu (translation)

Stars:

Phoebe Kut, Hollie Lo, Vivian Wu

11 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phoebe Kut	...	Eve Eng
Hollie Lo	...	Karena Eng
Vivian Wu	...	May-Lin Eng
Chit-Man Chan	...	Frank Eng
Ping Sun Wong	...	Grandmother
Joseph Siu	...	Uncle #8 (as Joseph Siu Kin Hing)
Shirley Ng	...	Auntie #8
Diane Buermans	...	Cousin Colleen
Franco Maravilla	...	Cousin Edward
Jessica Amlee	...	Sally
Pawan Gill	...	Surinder
Wendy Russell	...	Sister Agnes
Julia Tortolano	...	Becky
Matias Hacker	...	Mr. Right
Chris Shields	...	God's Witness #1 - Fred

Storyline

Chinese-Canadian Eve Eng was born in 1966, in the year of the fire horse. In Chinese culture, fire horse children are notorious for being troublesome. In 1975, nine year old Eve is looking for some meaning for her life, especially after her mother, May-Lin Eng, miscarries, and her paternal grandmother passes away, the latter event particularly concerning not so much for the event itself but the circumstances leading to the death. The Engs follow traditional Buddhist philosophy, primarily as a cultural tradition. While her husband Frank Eng is away in China dealing with his mother's burial, May-Lin doesn't stop their eldest daughter, Karena Eng, from pursuing knowledge of and eventual faith in Christianity, most specifically Catholicism. May-Lin sees it as a cushion for ensuring a good life and good after-life, as much of Christian teaching follows that of Buddhism anyway. Eve follows in her sister's footsteps. While Karena becomes a devout Catholic to the expense of her Buddhist ...

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Plot Keywords:

canadian | eve | horse | fire | buddhism | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Canada]

Country:

Canada

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Csodavilág

Filming Locations:

Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mongrel Media, Red Storm Productions, Holiday Pictures Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature film debut of Alexander Ludwig.

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Goofs

In the same spot where Ottawa is listed as capital of Ontario, Fredericton is also spelled wrong - the movie spells it Fredricton.

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Soundtracks

Magic
Performed by Pilot
Words and Music by David Patton and William Lyall

User Reviews

beautiful, charming film!

i was fortunate to catch a screening of this film during the 2006 Sundance film festival "Best of Fest" screenings.

beautiful, unexpected, very witty. narrated through the eyes of a young Chinese girl growing up in canada. her vivid daydreams seamlessly blend with reality, adding a charm and humor that lingers long after the film is over.

Visually, this film is a treat--sometimes unexpected, yet always appropriate, it enhances and expands the emotion of the story. music, dialogue are well-crafted; the rare subtitle here and there manages to leave the flow of the movie uninterrupted.

phoebe kut is wonderful as eve; her interaction/relationship with her predictably "wise" older sister as they weather the unpredictable difficulties of merging Chinese superstition and Buddhism with Western culture and Catholicism is very believable.

yu ching, as eve's mother, perfectly evokes emotion as she quietly bears sorrow and heartache and strives to enlighten her children with love and laughter.

try to catch a screening of this film somehow--it's a gem!