A Simple Life: Film Review

A Simple Life: Film Review

The director of the soft-hearted Hong Kong story, A Simple Life which is about love, reputation and respect, stood with his cast during a sustained standing ovation at the Asian premiere, Golden Horse Awards, in September, 2011.

It was two years after her narrative film “The way we are” was produced. Now, Ann Hui returns to her own filming style, focusing on the details of drama, rather the expression of scenario, in telling a simple and ordinary, but touched family love story. Only this time, Ann changed the relationship to a servant and a master.

A Simple Life, based on real story, script by Susan Chan and Roger Lee centres on a warm-hearted story between a signorino and a servant, Master Roger (Andy Lau) and Ah Tao (Deannie Yip), who get big break when Ah Tao left Roger’s family because of having stroke.

Although Roger works as a movie producer, he was still living alone and taken care by Ah Tao for over 50 years. To Roger, Ah Tao has taken an importance place in his heart, and he was willing to did his best to take the responsibility of looking after Ah Tao when she was sick, even she urged to live in Retirement home. During the period that Roger takes care of Ah Tao, the relationship between them has exceeded master and servant, more likely, a family.

“Because I feel like heroes are too special or extraordinary, you should the word. I don’t really like to focus on those characters.” Ann Hui says.

Hui prefers filming ordinary people and ordinary stories. Like the family love of mother and son from “The Way We Are” and the relationship between master and servant in “A Simple Life”. Hui thinks that ordinary characters can touch audiences the most for the reason that these characters come from the lives we have experienced. Ah Tao is a character like any of us, so that audiences can feel, truly and practically, the deep emotion in characters through a film.

“ Ann Hui is one of good directors in Hong Kong films, she is good at filming, especially using documentary techniques to film. When you saw her films, everything seems so usual, but also real,” Freelance films review writer Kevin Cheung says.

Though Hui’s films continue to rely on narrative storytelling, she did not devote particular care to either commercial film or arthouse picture. Hui emphasizes on expressing the emotion in films via the documentary techniques of filming, expression of drama and acting of performers. Many audiences were deeply moved or shed tears after seeing A Simple Life.

“ I think its really nice and realistic film which is not a melodramatic, it’s about everyday life and it doesn't try to make you cry, it’s not over sentimental,” Mike Walsh, Flinders University Screen Studies Senior Lecturer, says.

Yes it is, A Simple Life is not a sensationalist film, there are no affection, no overstatement and no emotional hiding in it, all expressions of emotion are natural and from characters’ lives. In Hui’s film, she does not try to attract audiences’ attention deliberately by utilizing any magnificent film techniques; moreover, she uses a documentary techniques to delivered many details of one’s life, even a gesture or behave, in a film, in order to make the story alive. Like Andy Lau says that it was a film which was full of emotions of one’s life.

Relevant transcript:

Mike Walsh
Contact: mike.walsh@flinders.edu.au

Q: How do you think of the characters or directors of A Simple Life?

A: I think its really nice and realistic film which is not a melodramatic, it’s about everyday life and it doesn't try to make you cry, it’s not over sentimental.

Kiefer Cheung
Contact: hitchkiefer@hotmail.com

Q: What do you think of Ann Hui, the director of A Simple Life?

A: Ann Hui is one of good directors in Hong Kong films, she is good at filming, especially using documentary techniques to film. When you saw her films, everything seems so usual, but also real.

Hyperlink reference:
Interview of Ann Hui and Any Lau http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJQ4aRbBKmA&list=FLB6Hez8VauLCAlGnKvKHEnQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video Photographs:
http://danielyunhx.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/a-simple-life/