My Father and I
Encyclopedia
My Father and I is a 2003 Mainland Chinese
drama
directed by actress Xu Jinglei
in her directorial debut. The film centers around a young girl, played by Xu, and her father, played by Ye Daying, following the death of her mother in an accident. It was critically well-received, garnering awards for Best Actress as well as Best New Director for Xu at the 2004 Chinese Film Media Awards. Internationally, it screened at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival
.
teenager, is abruptly left without a mother following a traffic accident. Her father, Lao Yu, with whom she has had little contact, becomes her legal guardian. He is unsure how to act in this role, but as time progresses their relationship matures into an affectionate one. Lao Yu is not the most dependable of men, however. He gambles, engages in small-time black market business transactions, and spends a great deal of time at a bar associating with other men who live similar lives. This culminates finally in his arrest, and he spends some time in prison. In his absence, Xiao Yu graduates from high school and begins her university studies, and begins living with her boyfriend, a hot-tempered student from Hunan
. When her father is released, he finds his relationship with his daughter strained, due in no small part to her frustrations over his absence and lack of dependability, along with his fatherly concerns about her living arrangement. She and her boyfriend leave Beijing for Shanghai
, where she becomes pregnant. When her relationship with her boyfriend does not work out, she returns to Beijing to live with her father, who sees her through her pregnancy and helps her raise her child. He has not entirely mended his ways, however, and frequently sneaks out at night to gamble. On one such occasion his friends decide to play a prank, and barge in on the game pretending to be the police—the stress of the experience causes Lao Yu to suffer a stroke, rendering him incapable of caring for himself. Xiao Yu nurses him at home while caring for the baby, hoping that he will recover, but he never does.
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by actress Xu Jinglei
Xu Jinglei
Xu Jinglei is an actress, director and editor most famous in her native mainland China. Xu graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy in 1997. Along with Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, the mainland Chinese media considers her a member of the Four Young Dan actresses...
in her directorial debut. The film centers around a young girl, played by Xu, and her father, played by Ye Daying, following the death of her mother in an accident. It was critically well-received, garnering awards for Best Actress as well as Best New Director for Xu at the 2004 Chinese Film Media Awards. Internationally, it screened at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival
2003 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2003 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 4 to September 13, 2003. A total of 336 films from 55 countries were screened during the festival...
.
Plot
Xiao Yu, a BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
teenager, is abruptly left without a mother following a traffic accident. Her father, Lao Yu, with whom she has had little contact, becomes her legal guardian. He is unsure how to act in this role, but as time progresses their relationship matures into an affectionate one. Lao Yu is not the most dependable of men, however. He gambles, engages in small-time black market business transactions, and spends a great deal of time at a bar associating with other men who live similar lives. This culminates finally in his arrest, and he spends some time in prison. In his absence, Xiao Yu graduates from high school and begins her university studies, and begins living with her boyfriend, a hot-tempered student from Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
. When her father is released, he finds his relationship with his daughter strained, due in no small part to her frustrations over his absence and lack of dependability, along with his fatherly concerns about her living arrangement. She and her boyfriend leave Beijing for Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, where she becomes pregnant. When her relationship with her boyfriend does not work out, she returns to Beijing to live with her father, who sees her through her pregnancy and helps her raise her child. He has not entirely mended his ways, however, and frequently sneaks out at night to gamble. On one such occasion his friends decide to play a prank, and barge in on the game pretending to be the police—the stress of the experience causes Lao Yu to suffer a stroke, rendering him incapable of caring for himself. Xiao Yu nurses him at home while caring for the baby, hoping that he will recover, but he never does.
External links
- My Father and I at the Chinese Movie Database