''Soul Mate'' is a 2016

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by

Derek Tsang Derek Tsang Kwok-cheung (; born 8 November 1979) is a Hong Kong filmmaker and actor. The son of actor Eric Tsang, Tsang got his start in the Hong Kong film industry working for director Peter Chan after graduating from University of Toronto Sca ...

, based on the novel of the same name by

Anni Baobei Li Jie (), commonly known by her pen names Anni Baobei or Annie Baby () and later Qing Shan (), is a Chinese writer. One of China’s earliest online writers, she gained popularity with works that explore loneliness, urban life, and female sexu ...

. It stars

Zhou Dongyu Zhou Dongyu ( zh, c=周冬雨; born 31 January 1992) is a Chinese actress. She first gained recognition after appearing in Zhang Yimou's film '' Under the Hawthorn Tree'' (2010). She was also chosen by '' Southern Metropolis Daily'' as one of t ...

and

Ma Sichun Sandra Ma Sichun (, born 14 March 1988) is a Chinese actress of Hui ethnicity. She is noted for her roles in the films '' The Left Ear'' (2015) and '' Soul Mate'' (2016), for which she won the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress alongs ...

. A Hong Kong-Chinese co-production, the film was released on 14 September and 27 October 2016 in mainland China and Hong Kong respectively.

Plot

Thirty year-old working woman Li Ansheng's life in Shanghai is suddenly disrupted by the publication of a novel, entitled "Qiyue and Ansheng", a chronicle of her friendship with Qi Yue during her youth. Coupled with an accidental encounter with Su Jia Ming, a past love, her long repressed memories are unleashed with the force of a tsunami. The two girls seemed destined to become friends from the moment they entered high school. Though they were inseparable and believed that their bond would last for the rest of their lives, the cruelty of youth eventually led them to separate paths. Even more shocking is the discovery of a long buried secret shared by the women - a secret that serves as an emblem of their youth and the proof of their friendship.

Cast

as Li Ansheng *

as Lin Qiyue * Toby Lee as Su Jiaming

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 9 reviews. Edmund Lee of ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' commended the film for transcending its potentially cloying premise to tell a story of friendship and love that’s at once melancholy and very emotional. Both Zhou and Ma were credited for the film's success with their skillful displays of raw emotion. ''Soul Mate'' received 7 nominations at the annual Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards in 2016, and made history with a joint Best Actress win.

Accolades

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 6054290, Soulmate 2016 romantic drama films 2016 films Chinese romantic drama films Hong Kong romantic drama films Alibaba Pictures films Huaxia Film Distribution films Films based on Chinese novels Chinese teen films Chinese coming-of-age films 2010s Mandarin-language films Films scored by Yusuke Hatano 2010s Hong Kong films 2010s Chinese films