Whishaw excels as the boyfriend of a deceased Chinese man, whose mother lives in an house for the elderly. Cheng Pei-pei (the mother) is at least equally brilliant. The story is about the two of them slowly coming closer and manage (or perhaps learn) to accept each other's existence in the deceased life.
Although the plot is a bit thin leaving several question marks as to why for instance thinks came to the present state (especially for the mother), the main actors' performance makes up for it. There are some repeating scenes (rather annoying in my opinion, since they do not offer any additional resolution), and there is a slice of overdramatization, but the film manages to not cross the line over to being kitsch. The cinematography is a mixture of western and asian styles, for the westerners with a tendency to sentimental exaggeration, for asians with a portion of bluntness. What I also missed was at least some reference to how they both dealt with the death. The film is namely all about the interaction between the two of them.
In any case, I found the film worth watching, but be warned, you might wanna have a handkerchief nearby.
Although the plot is a bit thin leaving several question marks as to why for instance thinks came to the present state (especially for the mother), the main actors' performance makes up for it. There are some repeating scenes (rather annoying in my opinion, since they do not offer any additional resolution), and there is a slice of overdramatization, but the film manages to not cross the line over to being kitsch. The cinematography is a mixture of western and asian styles, for the westerners with a tendency to sentimental exaggeration, for asians with a portion of bluntness. What I also missed was at least some reference to how they both dealt with the death. The film is namely all about the interaction between the two of them.
In any case, I found the film worth watching, but be warned, you might wanna have a handkerchief nearby.