Life Show

Life Show (Chinese: 生活秀; pinyin: shēng húo xiù) is a 2002 Chinese film directed by Huo Jianqi. 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, shows a romantic interest in her. The film was a co-production between the China Film Group and the Beijing Film Studio. It was based on a novel by Chi Li and was adapted by Si Wu.[1]

Life Show
Directed byHuo Jianqi
Produced byJin Zhongqiang
Han Sanping
Yang Buting
Tong Gang
Written bySi Wu
Novel:
Chi Li
StarringTao Hong
Tao Zeru
Music byZhang Xiaofeng
CinematographyMing Su
Edited byKong Jinglei
Distributed byInternational:
China Film Group[1]
United States (DVD):
Razor Digital Entertainment[2]
Release date
Shanghai:
June 2002
Montreal:
August 28, 2002
Running time
105 min.
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin Chinese

Life Show won the Golden Goblet at the 2002 Shanghai International Film Festival, as well as awards for best actress and best cinematography.[3] It received a North American premiere[4] at the Montreal World Film Festival on August 28, 2002.[1]

Plot

Life Show follows a woman, Lai Shuangyang (Tao Hong), who operates a duck neck stall in night market in an unnamed city in central China (the film was shot in Chongqing[1]). 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. 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 street specializing in the central Chinese specialty of duck necks.
  • Yang Yi as Mei, Lai Shuangyang's assistant, who is in love with Shuangyang's younger brother, Jiujiu.
  • Tao Zeru as Zhuo Xiongzhou, a middle aged customer at Lai Shuangyang's restaurant who begins to show a romantic interest in Shuangyang.
  • Pan Yueming 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 Cultural Revolution.

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
  1. Elley, Derek (2002-09-25). "Life Show Review". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  2. "RDE: Life Show". Razor Digital Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  3. "Award-Shanghai International Film Festival". Shanghai International Film Festival. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  4. Deming, Mark. "Life Show". Allmovie. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
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