Yi ma de hou xian dai sheng huo

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.

It wasn't all style, however; the plot was really engaging. It followed the life of a old fashion, middle-aged woman, living in Shanghai. Her nephew Kuan-kuan arrives for a visit, then several memorable characters show a real & dramatic life of the aunt. She tried to catch up with times,but she is in vain. After she hits an all-time low and falls down a set of stairs, we know that she has a daughter and husband that she abandoned in Anshan. Director Ann Hui is smart,she makes the film hight-light and attractive.Li Qiang,who is the writer of Peacock,done an excellent work.He will be one of the best Chinese screenplay writer.

The leading actress Sinqi Gaowai's performance is a little disappointing,in comedy senses,she looks uncomfortable and too tight.Chow Yun-Fat is good,his acting is much better than his Hollywood movies.The film is a wise choice for him.Shi Ke and Zhao Wei are amazing!

The A-List Chinese-cast could not save this movie to get bored after one hour. Since the stories around the aunt are not connected with each other it's like watching 5 movies in a row. The story is just not good enough to keep the audience interested what's happen next. The music is to heavy to a "supposed to be funny movie" and does not support the story at all. It seem's the writer who wrote the award winning movie Peacock as well is better in writing sad stories. Yun Fat Chow & Siqin Gaowa play nice but there is no magic you can feel between them. A astonishing performance (unfortunatelly to short) gave Shi Ke as a poor mother with a sick kid in a hospital. Unfortunately for Chao Wei; her performance came last when you already lost interest. If you really want to see a funny Chinese movie with a great story watch "Crazy stone".

As the years go by, it is nice to see Zhao Wei mature and improve as an actress. She has consistently improved as an actress. From her immature early TV roles, she has begun to mature. We see this in such films as Green Tea and A Time To Love.

Both are art films that begin to showcase her growing acting range. In Green Tea, she plays two characters with opposite personalities. One is an introvert and the other an extrovert. She is quite believable in how she portrays each. In A Time To Love, she is able to express deep emotion without using any words - something that is difficult to do.

I think that from her, the best is yet to come.

This film is about the unfortunate life of a woman from Manchuria in Shanghai.

From the title, I thought it would be a comedy. In fact it is about a very kind woman who tries to do as many good deeds as possible, but unfortunately her good deeds are not rewarded. The protagonist is an unattractive middle aged lady. Her college education and fluent British English does not save her from making mistakes after mistakes. Each time she does so, I really feel for her. I get so disappointed and saddened. I just don't understand why she still hasn't learn from the past when she has already learned the hard way. It's amazing that the film draws me so close to her, as if she was a part of my family. "The Postmodern Life of My Aunt" is surprisingly engaging and enjoyable. It is probably not a film for everyone, but I would still recommend it to others.