Movies have become a major source of entertainment throughout the past year. While many other activities were “out of order” from this horrible pandemic, movies were at the tip of our fingers with a simple click of a remote and a slump into a comfortable couch. However, it is still far less enjoyable than watching from a movie theater, which is unfortunate since all movie theaters in China were closed down during the Chinese New Year last year. But 2021 is guaranteed to be a better year, starting from making up for the movie time we missed.
My Recommendation
I love watching movies, and I rarely miss out on the big ones coming out. The same goes for the films from this Chinese New Year. Honestly speaking, out of all of the Chinese movies that came out in the past few weeks, I was only satisfied with one or two. The rest weren’t nearly as good as everyone anticipated, some I even considered plainly, bad. But those aren’t worth digging into. One of the movies that were most memorable to me was the movie Hi. Mom《你好，李焕英》, a story about the relationship between a mother and daughter and their infinite love for one another.
Here are three reasons why it is an excellent movie to watch with your family:
1. Relatable Characters: The most appealing aspect of this movie was how ordinary the characters were, a mother who gave up everything for her underachieving daughter and a daughter who would do anything to make her mother proud. Even though the time-traveling setting was unrealistic and the performance was over-exaggerated, somehow, it still managed to be very relatable to the audience. I think this is because of the genuineness of the character bonds. After all, the undying love we feel for our parents and children is one of the few things that we all have in common.
2. Down to Earth: Unlike the other movies that were screened during the Chinese New Year, with crazy plots like switching lives and hunting for bad guys, this movie solely focused on the pure relationship between the two characters. All of the characters were very likable, like people you would meet in your ordinary life. The story is also adapted from Jia Ling, the director’s personal experiences throughout childhood, and her relationship with her own mother. All of the emotions expressed through the movie was heartfelt since they all come from the bottom of her heart.
3. It’s Funny Too: Many people who went to watch the movie described how they “couldn’t stop laughing in the first half and couldn’t stop crying in the second.” The film contained a lot of puns and jokes used in sketches, and though it’s not considered advanced humor, it was still delightful to watch and easy to laugh to. To describe its humor in Chinese, it was 平庸的刚刚好 (píngyōng de gānggāng hǎo).
Having parents who work in the movie industry, I understood that the past year has been a tough time for some people, especially with jobs related to movie theaters. In 2020, movie theaters in Beijing were closed for around half a year, from the Chinese New Year until July, which is a long time for a place to be out of business. With nowhere to go for movies, many people started to turn to online platforms, which made them flourish at a relatively rapid speed.
However, this pandemic did not cause that much damage to movie production teams. Usually, it takes a long time, years, to produce a film. And normally, many setbacks could occur throughout the process, such as issues with the screenplay, actors, slots, investments, examination, etc. Even if a movie is finished making, it could sometimes take a couple of years before it is eventually screened. So, half a year isn’t considered a great complication for these production teams, and there are many other things they can be working on during that time, like preparing a new script, working on post-production, and drawing a storyboard.
There have also been rumors online saying that 2000 movie companies went out of business during the pandemic, which is exaggerated and not true. In fact, the Chinese movie industry was the fastest to recover from the harm created by the pandemic. Comparing to the catering industry, hotel industry, travel industry, aviation industry, and other businesses, the movie industry is considered lucky.
KEEP READING: Why You Should Go See “Nezha,” China’s Highest Grossing Animated Movie Ever
Images: Hi.Mom, pexels
