Taming of the grumpy grandpa. That is literally it.
I resented him a lot for his prejudices against whites and women. Ai Hua is too old and a widow and his son is a prize? She is clearly better looking than him. He keeps Busi hidden for fear of being laughed at. He has a potty mouth and never a word of encouragement, only nagging and scolding. For more than half the movie. And somehow the child, in his innocence and cheerfulness, gets the better of him and brings out his best side. It actually feels good to see it happening cause he was such a downer before. I loved it when his village leader shamed him for his behaviour.
We also get a shadow puppet performance and it's kind of beautiful to see. I'm not a fan of the singing, but the puppet show is nice. After a bit of heartbreak it ends on a happy note.
RIP grandpa. The actor I mean.