Review of Happy Times (2000) by Aaron C — 24 Nov 2010

It is funny enough to ridiculous a thing called love. No matter how hard you try, you'll end up screwing up everything. This old man tries harder than anyone could ever imagine to have something precious in his last age, something he should have tired of for a long time: he tries to be married, in a way he could stage the future. What's he get? Nothing but trouble. He has to keep his head up or he'll lose his long-time-coming lover. He doesn't understand what mutual love is except the sacrifice part. But on the other side, his effort has become a pursuit of hope for another person. Wu Ying, in her own state, can't help but accept that she troubles her step-mother. She hopes to find her father and cure her blindness, but along the way, she learns about being with a true family, Manager Zhao and his friends. She was hopeless and nearly suicidal, but then she gained a new light.

The film isn't about comedy at all, but somehow, it isn't about tragedy, too. It is warm enough to let us laugh and calm enough to get us touched. The performance is quite convincing, but the script is not intriguing. Overall, the neo realist film is a fine work, but not Yimou's best.