The Postmodern Life of My Aunt
Encyclopedia
The Postmodern Life of My Aunt is a 2006
Hong Kong
serio-comedy film
, directed by Ann Hui
, starring Siqin Gaowa
and Chow Yun-fat
. The film also guest-stars Chinese actresses Zhao Wei
and Lisa Lu
.
Its executive producer was Yuan Mei
; another producer was Er Yong. The film was based on a novel of the same title written by Yan Yan (燕燕), while the film's screenplay was by Li Qiang, a Chinese scriptwriter, who had written the script of the 2005 film Peacock, directed by Gu Changwei
.
After encountering self-proclaimed aesthete Pan Zhichang (Chow Yun-Fat), she falls for Pan and uses her life savings to invest on cemetery spaces on Pan's suggestion. He turns out to be a fraudster.
After being the victim of several con artists, Ye suffers a bad fall and is hospitalized. She decides to leave Shanghai to live with her working-class husband and cook daughter (Zhao Wei) in Anshan.
.
Perry Lam of Muse
gave the film a very positive review: The Postmodern Life of My Aunt is that rare thing in Hong Kong cinema, one that occupies the shadow land between tragedy and comedy. It's hard to categorize My Aunt and assign it to a genre because its characters are so fully formed and three-dimensional.'
and in Anshan, Liaoning
, Northeast China
(note: Anshan is the birthplace of director Ann Hui). Filming locations in Shanghai include the overpass at Shaanxi and Yan'an roads, and the old houses on Julu Road. Filming in Anshan took place in the first days of 2006. The snow in Anshan was produced artificially.
43rd Golden Horse Awards
12th Golden Bauhinia Awards
14th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
Hong Kong films of 2006
-2006:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2006 at * at Hong Kong Film Archive...
Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
serio-comedy film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, directed by Ann Hui
Ann Hui
Ann Hui On-Wah is a Hong Kong film director, film producer and occasional screenwriter, one of the most critically acclaimed amongst the Hong Kong New Wave.-Early life:...
, starring Siqin Gaowa
Siqin Gaowa
Sechen Guwa is a Chinese-Swiss actress of Mongol ethnicity. Her name "Сэцэн Гуа" means in Mongolian: The Wise Beautiful.She first came into prominence in the 1982 film adaptation of Lao She's novel, Rickshaw Boy, where she played "Tigress" opposite Zhang Fengyi's Xiangzi...
and Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
. The film also guest-stars Chinese actresses Zhao Wei
Zhao Wei
Zhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
and Lisa Lu
Lisa Lu
Lisa Lu is a Chinese-American actress and documentary producer.-Life and career:Lu was born in Peking, China . Beginning in her teens, she was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu, before emigrating to the United States...
.
Its executive producer was Yuan Mei
Yuan Mei
Yuan Mei was a well-known poet, scholar, artist, and gastronome of the Qing Dynasty.Yuan Mei was born in Qiantang , Zhejiang province, to a cultured family who had never before attained high office. He achieved the degree of jinshi in 1739 at the young age of 23, was immediately appointed to the...
; another producer was Er Yong. The film was based on a novel of the same title written by Yan Yan (燕燕), while the film's screenplay was by Li Qiang, a Chinese scriptwriter, who had written the script of the 2005 film Peacock, directed by Gu Changwei
Gu Changwei
Gu Changwei is a Chinese cinematographer and film director. Gu was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi in the People's Republic of China. Gu is considered one of the major Chinese cinematographers working today.-Career:...
.
Synopsis
Ye Rutang (Siqin Gaowa), a single-living woman in her late fifties, struggles to maintain a dignified life amid the dangers of Shanghai. Living alone in an apartment, she endures gossipy neighbor Mrs Shui (Lisa Lu) and her pampered cat. She is pragmatic, frugal and self-reliant, but her old-fashionedness and trusting nature make it difficult for her to fit into Shanghai society.After encountering self-proclaimed aesthete Pan Zhichang (Chow Yun-Fat), she falls for Pan and uses her life savings to invest on cemetery spaces on Pan's suggestion. He turns out to be a fraudster.
After being the victim of several con artists, Ye suffers a bad fall and is hospitalized. She decides to leave Shanghai to live with her working-class husband and cook daughter (Zhao Wei) in Anshan.
Release and Reception
The Postmodern Life of My Aunt premiered at film festivals around the world; it was a special presentation at the Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
.
Perry Lam of Muse
Muse (Hong Kong Magazine)
Muse is a bilingual Hong Kong-based multimedia publisher specializing in content related to Hong Kong's art and culture scene.. Until December 2010, Muse published an award-winning monthly arts and culture magazine...
gave the film a very positive review: The Postmodern Life of My Aunt is that rare thing in Hong Kong cinema, one that occupies the shadow land between tragedy and comedy. It's hard to categorize My Aunt and assign it to a genre because its characters are so fully formed and three-dimensional.'
Cast and roles
- Chow Yun-fatChow Yun-FatChow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
- Pan Zhichang, a suave, middle-aged con artist who sings Beijing OperaBeijing operaPeking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
and is a self-proclaimed aesthete - Siqin GaowaSiqin GaowaSechen Guwa is a Chinese-Swiss actress of Mongol ethnicity. Her name "Сэцэн Гуа" means in Mongolian: The Wise Beautiful.She first came into prominence in the 1982 film adaptation of Lao She's novel, Rickshaw Boy, where she played "Tigress" opposite Zhang Fengyi's Xiangzi...
- Ye Rutang ("the aunt"), a lady in her late fifties living alone in Shanghai away from her husband and daughter in Anshan. Her trusting nature makes her an easy target to swindlers. - Zhao WeiZhao WeiZhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
- Liu Dafan, Ye's daughter, a cook in Anshan - Fang Qingzhuo
- Guan Wenshuo - Kuan-kuan, Ye's nephew
- Jiao Gang - Guo Feng
- Lisa LuLisa LuLisa Lu is a Chinese-American actress and documentary producer.-Life and career:Lu was born in Peking, China . Beginning in her teens, she was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu, before emigrating to the United States...
- Mrs. Shui, Ye's neighbor in Shanghai. She is gossipy and is always with her cat. - Shi Ke - Jin Yonghua, a woman who is so poor that she desperately attempts con jobs that lands her at the police station.
- Wang Yi - Nurse
- Wang Ziwen - Fei-fei
- Zhang Zhi-Hua - Nurse
Filming locations
The film is set and was filmed in ShanghaiShanghai
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...
and in Anshan, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
, Northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
(note: Anshan is the birthplace of director Ann Hui). Filming locations in Shanghai include the overpass at Shaanxi and Yan'an roads, and the old houses on Julu Road. Filming in Anshan took place in the first days of 2006. The snow in Anshan was produced artificially.
Awards and nominations
27th Hong Kong Film Awards27th Hong Kong Film Awards
Ceremony for the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 14 April 2008 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and hosted by Sandra Ng, Carol Cheng and Sammi Cheng. Winners in nineteen categories were unveiled, with film The Warlords being the year's biggest winner.The nominees were announced on 2 February...
- Won: Best Actress (Siqin Gaowa)
- Won: Best Original Film Score (Joe HisaishiJoe Hisaishi, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
) - Nominated: Best Director (Ann Hui)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Chow Yun Fat)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (Zhao WeiZhao WeiZhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
) - Nominated: Best Screenplay (Li Qiang)
- Nominated: Best Cinematography (Kwan Pun Leung and Yu Lik Wai)
- Nominated: Best Costume Make Up Design (Ma Yu Tao)
43rd Golden Horse Awards
- Nominated: Best Actress (Siqin Gaowa)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (Zhao WeiZhao WeiZhao Wei is a mainland Chinese film actress and pop singer. Audiences sometimes refer to her by her English name, Vicki Zhao...
) - Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay (Li Qiang)
12th Golden Bauhinia Awards
Golden Bauhinia Awards
Golden Bauhinia Awards is a Hong Kong film award organised by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association. Its first award presentation ceremony took place in 1996....
- Nominated: Best Director (Ann Hui)
- Nominated: Best Screenplay (Qiang Li)
14th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in Hong Kong, China since 1995. The awards are determined by votes cast in three rounds after a substantial discussion session between the members of the society...
- Won: Best Actress (Siqin Gaowa)
- Won: Best Director (Ann Hui)
- Won: Best Film
External links
- HK cinemagic entry. Contains trailer.
- loveHKfilm entry
- "Aunt production team's daily needs in Anshan"
- "Zhao Wei enjoying her 'stint' as chef in Anshan" asianfilmweb.de. Several pictures from the film.
- More pictures
- More pictures