Learn Chinese through Chinese Movie- June. 2015
失孤 “Lost and Love ”
失孤( in pinyin: shī gū English translation: Lost and Love )
Director: Peng Sanyuan
Cast: Andy Lau，Jing Boran，Tony Leung Ka-fai
Country:
China, Hong Kong
Language: Mandarin
Year Released: 2015
One day in 1999 when his two-year-old son Lei Da went missing,Anhui farmer Lei Zekuan (Lau) begins his fifteen-year-long journey of hardship searching for his lost son. On his way he meets Zeng Shuai, a young car mechanic who was abducted as a child himself and is also searching for his parents.
Lost and Love received generally positive reviews from critics. Maggie Lee of Variety Film Reviews gave the film a positive review and writes "Notwithstanding some sentimental beats, Peng achieves a delicate balance between bleak realities and a life-affirming attitude, capped by a predictable but necessary catharsis." In Clarence Tsui review for The Hollywood Reporter, he mainly praised Mark Lee Ping Bin's cinematography and writes "These lush depictions of city and country fill in the dots between the film's dramatic plot points, gently driving the story forward while hinting at the social climate of the day." Joe Bendel of Libertas Film Magazine gave the film a score of B+ and praises the performances of stars Andy Lau and Jing Boran, director Peng's direction and Lee's cinematography and concludes his review by writing "Despite some conspicuous loose ends, Lost and Love is a refreshingly mature and accessible drama, recommended for mainstream audiences." Tom Keogh of The Seattle Times rated the film 3 out of 4 stars and writes "Writer-director Peng Sanyuan gracefully cycles through ever-changing shifts in mood and tone, a reflection of the understandably mercurial emotions of the film’s two lead characters, the middle-aged Lei (Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau) and the 20-ish Ceng (Jing Boran)." James Verniere of Boston Herald gave the film a score of A- praising Lau as "the reason to see China Lion’s Lost and Love, a powerful Chinese drama about the widespread problem of abducted children" and refers it as "a film that will appeal to and move everyone."
