''Life Show'' () is a 2002

Chinese film The cinema of China is one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. Cinema was introduced in China in 1896 and the first Chinese film, '' Dingjun Mountain'' ...

directed by

Huo Jianqi Huo Jianqi (; born January 20, 1958) is a Chinese film director. Like the cinematographer turned director Gu Changwei, Huo Jianqi began his cinematic career in the art department. Nearly all of Huo's films have been written by his wife and collabo ...

. A drama, ''Life Show'' tells the story of a restaurant owner, played by Tao Hong, whose busy life dealing with family and business is nevertheless a lonely one. Her life takes a turn, however, when one of her long-time customers, played by

Tao Zeru Tao Zeru () (born December 7, 1953) is a Chinese film and television actor. He was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu. He was a graduate of the Nanjing University of the Arts. He was the 1989 co-recipient of the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor The Golde ...

, shows a romantic interest in her. The film was a co-production between the

China Film Group China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), is the largest, most influential film enterprise in the People's Republic of China, owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. According to ''Forbes'', it is a state monopoly that al ...

and the

Beijing Film Studio } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. It was based on a novel by

Chi Li Chi Li (born 30 May 1957) is a contemporary female Chinese writer based in Wuhan. She graduated from department of Chinese literature at Wuhan University in 1986. The setting for some of her stories is Changtangkou () in Xiantao, Hubei. In 2 ...

and was adapted by Si Wu. ''Life Show'' won the Golden Goblet at the 2002

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

, as well as awards for best actress and best cinematography. It received a North American premiere at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

on August 28, 2002.

Plot

''Life Show'' follows a woman, Lai Shuangyang, who operates a duck neck stall in night market in an unnamed city in central China (the film was shot in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

). Though Shuangyang keeps her cool, her life is filled with complications. Her brother drug-addicted Jiujiu has been committed to a sanitarium Her assistant, Mei, who has fallen in love with Jiujiu, attempts suicide. Her sister in law, Xiaojin, always leaves Shuangyang's nephew for Shuangyang to take care of. At the same time, Shuangyang is trying to regain her family's home, which was given to a neighbor during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

. Perhaps worst of all, Shuangyang is at risk of losing her restaurant. Into this morass, Shuangyang starts to notice one of her customers, Zhou Xiongzhou, a middle-aged businessman who has been frequenting her restaurant for a year. Despite concerns, she decides to take the risk with Xiongzhou and the two begin an unassuming romance.

Cast

* Tao Hong as Lai Shuangyang, the owner of a small restaurant on a

night market Night markets or night bazaars are street markets which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. They are typically open-air markets popular in East Asia, Sou ...

street specializing in the central Chinese specialty of

duck necks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

. * Yang Yi as Mei, Lai Shuangyang's assistant, who is in love with Shuangyang's younger brother, Jiujiu. *

as Zhuo Xiongzhou, a middle aged customer at Lai Shuangyang's restaurant who begins to show a romantic interest in Shuangyang. *

Pan Yueming Pan Yueming (; born 9 May 1974) is a Chinese actor. Pan is noted for his roles as Tai Lin in the film ''A Love of Blueness'', and as twin brothers Guan Hongfeng and Guan Hongyu on the Chinese web series ''Day and Night''. Pan ranked 97th on ''Fo ...

as Xiaojin, the wife of Shuangyang's older brother, Shuangyuan. * Luo Deyuan as Zhang, a local bureaucrat that deals with Shuangyang in her efforts to regain the home of her family that was lost during the

DVD release

''Life Show'' was released for North American markets on region 1 DVD by Razor Digital Entertainment on October 11, 2005. The DVD included subtitles for English, as well as both simplified and traditional Chinese characters.

References

External links

* *
''Life Show''
at the Chinese Movie Database {{Huo Jianqi 2002 films 2002 drama films 2000s Mandarin-language films Films based on Chinese novels Films set in Chongqing Films directed by Huo Jianqi Beijing Film Studio films Chinese drama films Films with screenplays by Si Wu 2000s Chinese films