Watch Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity For Free
Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity
Twelve-year-old Mindy Ho inexpertly tries Taoist magic to fix her single mother's financial situation and seemingly hopeless romantic prospects.
Release : | 2002 |
Rating : | 6.6 |
Studio : | |
Crew : | Art Direction, Production Design, |
Cast : | Valerie Tian Sandra Oh Ric Young Tseng Chang Russell Yuen |
Genre : | Drama Comedy Romance |
Watch Trailer
Cast List
Related Movies
Reviews
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Good movie but grossly overrated
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Who says that a Korean actress cannot portray a Chinese character? Granted it's not a perfect movie, I was deeply moved by the human elements so true to the Chinese Community in North America.I do agree with Frank L. though that little of the superstition exists in Chinese culture these days, but i respectfully disagree that this film would create "new stereotypes unheard of before".After all, it's just 90 minutes of good entertainment. As a Chinese American/Canadian living far away from China Town, it opens a window for me to other Chinese's lives, and to better appreciate what i have as well as what I don't have.Didn't know that Sandra O. & Russell Y. are from Canada! Best wishes to them both on their continued success on the big screen or small:)
While criticized by the one viewer over the film's perceived cultural inaccuracies, I found this film to be delightful and touching. The setting is an Asian enclave in a Northwest Canadian coastal city where a 12 year old girl, lives with her mom who struggles to make ends meet (Dad abandoned them both a long time before)and never takes time for her own needs. In the same community is a man who owns a barbecue store which he intends to have his 20 year old son take over (but the son has other ideas), and a security guard who, with his lovely wife, is adjusting to the departure of their last child from the home.The girl begins an intense study of Chinese magic in an attempt to help her mother win the lottery and a husband. Her amateurish application of magic, which, in a touch of magical realism seems to actually work (think Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets Ang Lee), but not as originally intended. As things get worse, the girl, literally playing with fire, tries one magic weapon she had not dared to use before.The beauty of this film is in the human story which has an Asian flavor, accurate or not, but which could have been set in the deep south (think "the heart is a lonely hunter"), Brooklyn, or anywhere there are single mothers struggling to raise children and children beginning to have dreams for their lives. Of course I don't believe in magic, Chinese or otherwise, but is is a wonderful vehicle that makes the story move forward on everyman's (and every-girl's) journey to Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity.
This movie is quite charming and humourous. The Chinese Canadian characters are incredibly superstitious to the point of being a bit over the top. I wonder if they are like that in real life, or whether it wasn't deliberately exagerrated. I live with many Chinese, but feel I don't understand them.There was a family in the film that spanned three generations. The father was anticipating a visit from the grandfather and was pushing his own son to be up to snuff. The son rebels by becoming a Bhuddhist monk and the grandfather writes that he disowned the son 20 years ago. However it wasn't clear to me why there was a split between first and second generations in the first place.If you are interested in cross-cultural issues, this is a good movie to go to.
This is a completely charming movie about a little girl's attempts to use traditional Chinese magic to improve her mother's life. Valerie Tian completely steals the show in the role of the little girl. Sandra Oh and Chang Tseng also give good performances, as you would expect.