''Sigh'' is a 2000

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Feng Xiaogang Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician. He is well known in China as a highly successful commercial filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well at the box of ...

, written by

Wang Shuo Wang Shuo (, born August 23, 1958) is a Chinese author, director, actor, and cultural icon. He has written over 20 novels, television series and movies. His work has been translated into Japanese, Spanish, French, English, Italian, Hindi, and m ...

, starring

Zhang Guoli Zhang Guoli (born 17 January 1955) is a Chinese actor and film director who was a ''xiangsheng'' actor before he started working on films and television series. He is mostly known for his roles playing the Emperor in various dramas involving Qin ...

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...

Xu Fan Xu Fan (, born 16 August 1967) is a Chinese actress and Asian Film Awards winner. She married film director Feng Xiaogang Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician ...

and

Fu Biao Fu Biao (September 27, 1963 – August 30, 2005) was a Chinese actor. Biography Fu Biao was born in the family of an army officer on September 27, 1963, in Beijing. After graduating from high school, he entered a film academy in Beijing to learn ...

. Like most of Feng's films, the film is set mostly in

Beijing } 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 ...

Plot

Liang Yazhou (Zhang) is a successful, middle-aged TV screenwriter from Beijing. While in

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

working on a new script, Liu Dawei (Fu) assigns young and beautiful Li Xiaodan (Liu) to him as an assistant. Yazhou and Xiaodan are mutually attracted to each other, but Yazhou is already married to Song Xiaoying (Xu), with whom he has a daughter. To break off the connection, he changes his plans and returns to Beijing. However, as soon as Yazhou and Xiaoying return to Beijing, they begin having an affair. When Xiaoying finds out about Yazhou's affair, she is furious and initially demands a divorce. Relations between Yazhou and Xiaoying become extremely strained. They separate, and Xiaoying eventually accepts Yazhou's affair for the sake of their young daughter Yueyue. Despite Xiaoying's tolerance, Yazhou remains caught between the two women, on one hand being spoiled by Xiaodan and, on the other, being an attentive father in front of Xiaoying and Yueyue. Even with Xiaodan demanding marriage, Yazhou finds himself unable to divorce his wife, due to the harmful impact their separation has already had on Yueyue. Xiaoying immerses herself in renovating the home she and Yazhou purchased before their fall out. When she injures her back after falling off a ladder, Yazhou is forced to leave Xiaodan to care for Xiaoying. He finally comes to appreciate how much his wife did for him - cooking, cleaning, taking care of their daughter, attending to his needs - so that he could write without distraction. During this time, Yazhou and Xiaodan rarely see each other, and Yazhou and Xiaoying appear to have fully repaired their relationship. On Yazhou's 42nd birthday, Xiaodan goes to his home with a gift, only to be spotted by Xiaoying. Xiaoying insists that she come inside, saying that they should temporarily put aside their hostility, and celebrate Yazhou's birthday. She reminisces about her relationship with her husband, telling Xiaodan about how they met and fell in love. After this visit, Yazhou and Xiaodan end their affair. The film ends with Yazhou and his family happily playing on a beach in Hainan. He receives a mysterious phone call. The last shot is of his surprised face when he turns around and presumably sees someone.

Cast

''as'' Liang Yazhou () *

''as'' Li Xiaodan () *

''as'' Song Xiaoying () *

''as'' Liu Dawei ()

External links

*
''A Sigh''
at the Chinese Movie Database 2000 films 2000s Mandarin-language films Films set in Beijing Films shot in Beijing Films directed by Feng Xiaogang Chinese drama films 2000 drama films Films set in Hainan Films shot in Hainan 2000s Chinese films {{China-film-stub