Watch this since heard of crazy box office in China. Take an overview of storyline highlight that it's a time travel theme. My first impression is such an old theme how can the box office be no.1? During the first hour and half, I feel it's really mediocre and storyline just so what as expected and not funny at all, it deserves a 3 is what I gave. However, things change for the last 30 minutes, unexpected is one of the reasons. But the most succeed part is it touches audience hearts for sure cuz the motherhood. I believed it's a portrait of everyone with their mom, it is thing that probably everyone would want to happen to make up the regrets and do better in their past. This movie makes that happen and give everyone a big consolation and purify our soul. Meaningful story get applaud but this one is so special. 7 is my final rating.
47 Reviews
So she was young too
liangzihan22 February 2021
"Hi mom" has reached the height of double-bumping reputation at the box office since the launch of the Spring Festival file. I remember seeing a movie blogger who predicted that "Hi mum" would be the dark horse of this year's Spring Festival this year. In fact, she is worth it.
I have seen a lot of moving movies, but few make me cry. It can be said that I don't feel that empathy. I rarely watch movies and cry because most of the movies did not happen to me. The method moved me.
The deepest feeling is that Li Huanying is so much like my mother. The reason why this movie touched me so much is not how sensational the plot is. It just portrays a complete look of my mother. My mother is like this, with sparse hair all over the roots of white hair, saving money to make my life better, she is willing to treat me unconditionally All kinds of good, after I played my temper, I still treated me well. I watched the movie with my mother. After watching the movie, when I watched my mother again, my nose suddenly became sore. I don't know how to face her now with white hair. Day after day, I am slowly growing. She is getting older and getting older. I start to be afraid of losing her. If it's really like in the movie, I will repay her when I have the ability to make money one day, and treat my mother as good as she is to me. Opportunity. I began to realize that I cannot live without her. My mother has been a part of my life since I was born. I have always thought that I am an independent child who can do everything in my life. I go to Beijing to go to school by myself. I don't need her to wash my clothes or take care of me. In my subconscious, I think I can do everything well. Outside, I did everything and took good care of myself. But when I got home, my mother would rush to help me with all kinds of things, wash my clothes, take me to class, and try my best to do it for me. For food, I don't know if she is gone one day, this will no longer be the real home when I go home, and a home without a mother will be worthless.
What really resonates with is this sentence, "As far as I can remember, my mother is like a middle-aged woman." In fact, as far as I can remember, my mother looked like a middle-aged woman. I have never seen my mother look like when she was young, and I don't know that she also looks young and beautiful like mine. In my eyes, my mother will always be the mother with simple dress, short hair and square glasses. I have never seen her braided when she was young, and her fashionable appearance does not mean that she has never been young. I don't know what she was like when she gave birth to her sister, but I believe she is much older after giving birth to me, and the vicissitudes of having one more child are vividly reflected in my mother. Before I went to dance classes outside, the kids asked me if it was your grandma, and I said it was my mother. Afterwards, I began to complain about why my mother looked older than others, why she couldn't dress up better. When I grew up, I realized that she spent all the money for dressing up on me. She never forced me to go. Go to various cram schools, but as long as I want to learn, she will definitely agree to me. For more than ten years, after her cultivation, I have a talent and knowledge that makes others envy. I can't deny that my arrival has added more pressure and wrinkles to her. In fact, I also want to make my mother younger and more beautiful. Like her twenties, I want to see if she looks like me when she was young. Like.
She was also mother's baby daughter. Although I haven't met my grandma, all I heard from her were the happy memories that grandma brought to her mother's growth. I never realized that she used to be cared for and grew up like she cared for me. Now the happiness my mother treats me is the happiness she has experienced. I want her own daughter to experience the same way her mother treated her. Love. I have always wondered why I am such a hater who quarrels with her for a lifetime. When I quarrel, I don't want to talk to her. But less than 10 minutes after I finished copying, I started taking a bite again, not wanting her to cook for me. I didn't want to beg her to buy me something, or I didn't get angry anymore, and I forgot what I was making. The family relationship between our mother and daughter is very wonderful. In life, big and small always like to be noisy, but in the end it is still good. She is the sharing diary of my childhood, and I want to tell her that she is a little bit big and I want to tell her that today who did not hand in homework and drank a few glasses of water... When I grew up, many things began to be separated from each other, and I began to reluctant to do it with her Daily sharing, but I every boyfriends, she actually knows who , but in order not to embarrass me, she never tells me. This is who I am now.This is us now. If I were a little older, I might return to the days of sharing accounts in my childhood.
She will always be grandma's baby, and I will always be her baby. We all have our own mother's love. I don't want to do too much to contradict her or say to hurt her feelings. After all, grandma saw it in the heaven. she will hurt.
5 ratings here when 40k ratings in douban and no review
callmeocean12 February 2021
A tender film about a mother and daughter.
jarodjerrymingze20 February 2021
The plot is very humorous, the love between mother and daughter is also reflected incisively and vividly.But there are some details that deserve a little bit more refinement. There's a little bit of emotional sublimation, but there's still a little bit of lack of feeling, you know, the smooth feeling of the movie.
Hi, Mom
jackson_ro17 June 2021
A tear quencher, you can easily tell how much this film means to Jia Lin. However, apart from the ending, while the rest of the film is funny, it is very much in the mold of recent Chinese comedies, and it is greatly helped out by a very strong supporting cast. The last 10 or so minutes is not an easy accomplishment though, it is very much a career and lifetime defining moment for someone to pour this much personal emotions on film. Accomplishing this is perhaps more important than any amount of box office for Jia.
Hits home, amazing storytelling
cindyguo-9586022 February 2021
If you could go back in time, where would you go? To this question, Jia Ling answers: back to before my mom was married! Through this movie, she travels back in time to make her mom's life "better." This movie is Jia Ling's tribute to her late mother, who passed away when Jia Ling was only 19. She integrates humor to tell an incredible story. The second half of the film is what really gets the tears flowing. The story is incredibly beautiful, and the emotions are extremely raw and real. I laughed from start to end, but found myself unable to hold back tears. A mother's love for her child and a child's realization... truly a must see. I highly recommend this film!
Commercial blockbuster made for Chinese market... and well done!
panta-422 February 2021
"Hi Mom" is based on the famous 2016 stage production that Jia Ling wrote, acted and directed about the events from her own life! The story centers on college student Jia Xiao Ling who has a hard time getting over her mother's death. In her grief, she somehow manages to travel back in time to meet her mother in 1981 and form a friendship together.
Jia Ling, Shen Teng, Michael Chen are all big stars in China and having a screenplay which allows them to show fully all their acting abilities is rare. Emotional, full of love, tender, funny, and typically Chinese! The directing was the weakest link, but it was not too bad.
Far from perfect, but highly recommended!
Jia Ling, Shen Teng, Michael Chen are all big stars in China and having a screenplay which allows them to show fully all their acting abilities is rare. Emotional, full of love, tender, funny, and typically Chinese! The directing was the weakest link, but it was not too bad.
Far from perfect, but highly recommended!
I cried sooooo hard
freeyingying26 February 2021
Rain Will Come, And Mom Will Be Mom
CinemaClown22 June 2021
The highest grossing film of 2021 so far is a sincerely crafted & emotionally uplifting story of love, loss, family, regret & wish fulfilment that centres on a mother-daughter bonding and is curated with heart & compassion. Packed with laughs yet capable of tugging the heartstrings, it is a sweet, simple & sentimental family drama that works as advertised.
Co-written & directed by Jia Ling in her directorial debut who also stars as the lead, the film uses the time travel framework only to transport itself into the past where it works on reforging the relationship between a woman & her mother. It's a safe play but the script is witty throughout and its emotional authenticity shines through, thus making it a pleasant delight for all.
Ling is fantastic throughout, both in front & behind the camera and her performance is the glue that holds this story together. Her grip on comedic elements is also spot-on for the most part. The 1980s setting plays to its strength. All supporting roles are well-drawn & finely acted. And the central relationship is captured with honesty. Still, its pacing is uneven at times and it sure is overlong.
Overall, Hi, Mom makes for a lovely tribute from a daughter to her mother and brims with all the ingredients that's required for it to be a crowdpleaser. A typical fare by all means, the film in many ways is far from the best version of itself yet its arrival is apt & fitting as it exudes a familial warmth & sense of community that many viewers lost in this raging pandemic, and it is bound to move & resonate with some of them if not all.
Co-written & directed by Jia Ling in her directorial debut who also stars as the lead, the film uses the time travel framework only to transport itself into the past where it works on reforging the relationship between a woman & her mother. It's a safe play but the script is witty throughout and its emotional authenticity shines through, thus making it a pleasant delight for all.
Ling is fantastic throughout, both in front & behind the camera and her performance is the glue that holds this story together. Her grip on comedic elements is also spot-on for the most part. The 1980s setting plays to its strength. All supporting roles are well-drawn & finely acted. And the central relationship is captured with honesty. Still, its pacing is uneven at times and it sure is overlong.
Overall, Hi, Mom makes for a lovely tribute from a daughter to her mother and brims with all the ingredients that's required for it to be a crowdpleaser. A typical fare by all means, the film in many ways is far from the best version of itself yet its arrival is apt & fitting as it exudes a familial warmth & sense of community that many viewers lost in this raging pandemic, and it is bound to move & resonate with some of them if not all.
A fun, if not entirely original family time travel dramedy
eddie_baggins21 April 2021
Releasing in its country of origin China earlier this year to great acclaim and smashing box office records along the way (entering into the top 3 highest grossing films of all-time in the country with box office figures in excess of over USD $821,000,000), Ling Jia's directional debut, that she also co-wrote and acts in, is a likeable and breezy fantastical dramedy that borrows heavily from other outings but has enough unique smarts and sass too feel fresh and enjoyable as it goes along its way.
Heavily inspired it seems by the Back to the Future meet your parents time travel scenario and also elements from well-liked family time travel drama About Time, Hi, Mom sees Jia's underachieving daughter finally getting a chance to make her mom proud, even if it just so happens to be in an unexpected way as she travels back in time mysteriously following a potentially tragic accident.
Heading back to the early 80's where colored TV's were the new fad and volleyball tournaments were the main concern, Hi, Mom takes Jia back to a time and place where the good times seemed to be flowing and the film finds a nice groove here between pure comedy, sentimentality and also romance as (again much like Back to the Future) Jia tries to ensure everyone that needs to fall in love does fall in love so she's not somehow get erased from existence before she had the chance too be born.
The film's biggest problems do stem from these moments that all feel borrowed from other films, nothing feels truly unique about Hi, Mom, it feels more like a greatest hits collection of elements of films we've already seen and already fallen in love with, even if the China location and Chinese sentiments give a fresh spin on otherwise Hollywoodized staples.
This isn't enough to completely dampen the experience however as it's not hard to see why so many audience members fell in love with this fun, entertaining and well-meaning affair.
Another key element to the film working despite feeling like a feature without its own identity is the charm of Ling Jia as a performer. Feeling like a naturally likeable and relatable performer, this film, which was born out of Jia crafting a tribute to her late mother, sees her give it her all as she takes us the viewers on a journey that will be recognizable for anyone with strong parental connections and has a global spanning feeling that should ensure this Chinese hit finds an audience across a range of nationalities.
Final Say -
A likeable if not exactly groundbreaking globally appealing comedy, Hi, Mum is a lot of fun and one of the most easily accessible Chinese films in some time with Ling Jia likely to become one of the biggest properties in the Asia market over the next few years.
3 blind shoppers out of 5.
Heavily inspired it seems by the Back to the Future meet your parents time travel scenario and also elements from well-liked family time travel drama About Time, Hi, Mom sees Jia's underachieving daughter finally getting a chance to make her mom proud, even if it just so happens to be in an unexpected way as she travels back in time mysteriously following a potentially tragic accident.
Heading back to the early 80's where colored TV's were the new fad and volleyball tournaments were the main concern, Hi, Mom takes Jia back to a time and place where the good times seemed to be flowing and the film finds a nice groove here between pure comedy, sentimentality and also romance as (again much like Back to the Future) Jia tries to ensure everyone that needs to fall in love does fall in love so she's not somehow get erased from existence before she had the chance too be born.
The film's biggest problems do stem from these moments that all feel borrowed from other films, nothing feels truly unique about Hi, Mom, it feels more like a greatest hits collection of elements of films we've already seen and already fallen in love with, even if the China location and Chinese sentiments give a fresh spin on otherwise Hollywoodized staples.
This isn't enough to completely dampen the experience however as it's not hard to see why so many audience members fell in love with this fun, entertaining and well-meaning affair.
Another key element to the film working despite feeling like a feature without its own identity is the charm of Ling Jia as a performer. Feeling like a naturally likeable and relatable performer, this film, which was born out of Jia crafting a tribute to her late mother, sees her give it her all as she takes us the viewers on a journey that will be recognizable for anyone with strong parental connections and has a global spanning feeling that should ensure this Chinese hit finds an audience across a range of nationalities.
Final Say -
A likeable if not exactly groundbreaking globally appealing comedy, Hi, Mum is a lot of fun and one of the most easily accessible Chinese films in some time with Ling Jia likely to become one of the biggest properties in the Asia market over the next few years.
3 blind shoppers out of 5.
A good interpretation of maternal love
bron-4725122 February 2021
The movie is a good interpretation of maternal love, Maternal love is incomparable love no matter how you give back. And the structure of the movie is clever. The director wants to use this movie to dedicate her mother to make up for her regrets for her mother, just like the protagonist in the movie tries her best to make up her regrets after time travel, but finally you will find you cannot make up the maternal love no matter what you do.
Great Ending
30Rocky309 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
To be quite honest, I skipped some parts while watching it, the first half was so so, the second half was ok-ish, but unlike the first half the second half had some unexpected developments, still not as impressed as the first time-travel movie they made, at least to me, a little bit boring.
However, the ending was great, and solve the very first question I guess everyone will encounter with at the beginning of this travel. How did her mother recognize her as cousin in the first place? I like this plot twist, it not only fixes the entire plot hole, but at most important, shows the unconditional love from her mother, very brilliant.
However, the ending was great, and solve the very first question I guess everyone will encounter with at the beginning of this travel. How did her mother recognize her as cousin in the first place? I like this plot twist, it not only fixes the entire plot hole, but at most important, shows the unconditional love from her mother, very brilliant.
Not surprising
dutich4 March 2021
Rosanne Barr Chinese Mom Movie - Ni Hao, Li Huanjing
arthur_tafero26 October 2022
A Chinese lookalike for Roseanne Barr stars in a comedy about a daughter who goes back in time to befriend her mother and make her mother's life better. At one time or another, all sons and daughters would like to do this for their parents, but, of course, it is just a fantasy, like this movie. Despite knowing this is just a silly fantasy, the film has its heart in the right place and is good family viewing; something that cannot be said for the vast majority of silly cartoons and superhero films that dominate the landscape in the 2020s. This is not a blockbuster with special effects, but you will remember it much longer than any of the special effects films.
A smartly-written laugh-out-loud comedy that will make you cry
ObsessiveCinemaDisorder2 May 2021
Hi, Mom is a charming heartfelt comedy that will have you laughing and reaching for the tissues. It is the directorial debut of Chinese comedian Jia Ling and based off a popular comedic sketch she had performed on Zhejiang Television in 2016.
Jia Ling, known for performing sketches on Chinese television, writes, directs and stars as Jia Xiao Ling, who feels she has been a lifelong disappointment to her mother Li Huan Ying. When her mother dies from a fatal car accident in 2001, Jia Xiao Ling is magically transported to 1981, where she befriends her mother Li Huan Ying as a young girl.
Guilt-stricken and armed with future knowledge, Xiao Ling is determined to alter the course of her mom's life for the better.
I laughed a lot through Hi, Mom. The comedy is well-timed and moves with a Swiss watch-like precision, telling its story with gags and zingers. There are some verbal gags that would exclude people who don't speak Chinese. That said, there are a variety of gags for them to give the movie a chance. All the laughter sneakily diverts the audience's attention to the darker question of what is happening: is Jia Xiao Ling trying to erase her own existence out of guilt?
The script brilliantly subverts the audience's conventional expectations of a time-travel scenario and delivers some surprises along the way. The surprises are not focused on plot logistics, but delivers on heartwarming sentiments.
This film has set three records. It is currently the highest grossing movie worldwide of 2021, the second highest grossing non-English movie of all time and the highest grossing film ever directed by a solo female director. One could link this to the Chinese population, I think there is merit to its success beyond that.
Hi, Mom gets personal in its last third and at one point it became increasingly clear that Jia Ling, in real life, had lost her own mother in a tragic accident. A director delivering a personal message with that sheer amount of emphasis would have normally taken me out of the movie. But this particular time, it didn't. The film had already won over the audience in my theater and I too, found myself mourning for the loss of Li Huan Ying.
Jia Ling, known for performing sketches on Chinese television, writes, directs and stars as Jia Xiao Ling, who feels she has been a lifelong disappointment to her mother Li Huan Ying. When her mother dies from a fatal car accident in 2001, Jia Xiao Ling is magically transported to 1981, where she befriends her mother Li Huan Ying as a young girl.
Guilt-stricken and armed with future knowledge, Xiao Ling is determined to alter the course of her mom's life for the better.
I laughed a lot through Hi, Mom. The comedy is well-timed and moves with a Swiss watch-like precision, telling its story with gags and zingers. There are some verbal gags that would exclude people who don't speak Chinese. That said, there are a variety of gags for them to give the movie a chance. All the laughter sneakily diverts the audience's attention to the darker question of what is happening: is Jia Xiao Ling trying to erase her own existence out of guilt?
The script brilliantly subverts the audience's conventional expectations of a time-travel scenario and delivers some surprises along the way. The surprises are not focused on plot logistics, but delivers on heartwarming sentiments.
This film has set three records. It is currently the highest grossing movie worldwide of 2021, the second highest grossing non-English movie of all time and the highest grossing film ever directed by a solo female director. One could link this to the Chinese population, I think there is merit to its success beyond that.
Hi, Mom gets personal in its last third and at one point it became increasingly clear that Jia Ling, in real life, had lost her own mother in a tragic accident. A director delivering a personal message with that sheer amount of emphasis would have normally taken me out of the movie. But this particular time, it didn't. The film had already won over the audience in my theater and I too, found myself mourning for the loss of Li Huan Ying.
A unique and unusual movie
cricketbat16 February 2022
Hi, Mom is an unusual film. I didn't really know what to expect going into it and the movie surprised me a number of times. Certain parts made me laugh, other parts got me emotional, and some parts were confusing, but I'm guessing I would have understood those parts better if I knew more about Chinese culture. I would have liked the ending to be different, but overall I enjoyed the journey that Hi, Mom took me on.
Comedy with Tears: Review of HI Mom
kampolam-7581327 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
In the 2021 Chinese New Year schedule in Mainland China, "Detective Chinatown 3" has a strong start, and was overtaken by "Hi, Mom" in the second week. The accumulated box office was over 5.4 billion yuan (826 million US dollar), ranking third in the Chinese film box office list, coupled with rave reviews, the comedian Jia Ling who had been directing for the first time, she and actress Zhang Xiaofei were promoted to national superstars. The film comes from Jia Ling's memory of her late mother Li Huanying. As early as in the 2016 variety show "Comedy General Mobilization", Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei performed the sketch "Hi, Li Huanying", and the response was very enthusiastic. Jia Ling and screenwriter Sun Jibin decided to adapt this ten-minute sketch into a movie, and finally started shooting in Jia Ling's hometown of Xiangyang, Hubei in September of the previous year.
For non-local audience, if "Hi, Mom" was not so popular in the Mainland China and became a hot topic among the public, many Mainland comedians such as Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei would not have received attention. You can see the power of the film and radiation level, and it still has a strong power. Audiences who pay attention to Mainland China TV variety shows should not be unfamiliar with Jia Ling. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with a major in cross talk performance and was admitted to the China Broadcasting Performing Arts Group, and was supported and helped by the cross talk superstar Feng Gong of the same group and spent the hard years. Over the years, she has gradually changed from a cross talk show to an actor in a comedy variety show. In 2016, she founded Big Bowl Entertainment Culture Media Co. Ltd, which developed two lines in front of the stage and behind the scenes. "Hi, Mom" is the first film produced by Big Bowl.
There are comments that "Hi, Mom" can stand out in the Chinese New Year schedule in 2021, because due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the public will stay in the place of residence, and watching movies has become the most popular entertainment. In addition, it was affected by the epidemic in 2020, many films could not be released, which also made the public have a strong desire for the films in the 2021 Chinese New Year. The film tells about the mother-daughter family relationship, and the dramatic effect of tears in laughter, it also makes the society full of depression in 2020, which has been affected by the epidemic, get warm comfort and relieve the depression in the heart. Jia Ling is full of her thoughts for her mother and her regret for not being able to live a good life for her mother. She used the film to express her feelings and dedicated the film to ordinary mothers in the world, which moved the audience and really made her laugh. Comedy with tears works best.
In "Hi, Mom", Jia Ling travels back to 1981 according to the story of her and her mother. The year before she was born, Chinese society embarked on the initial stage of Reform and Opening-up, the simple and hopeful years. In the past 40 years, Chinese society has undergone tremendous changes and development, and there have been countless shocks and losses. Today's achievements are the result of a period of extraordinary hardships. Just as Jia Ling became famous, she couldn't forget that her mother died in an accident in her first year at the Central Academy of Drama. She rushed back to Hubei from Beijing, but she still couldn't see her mother for the last time, and she couldn't share her achievements today with her mother, became an irreparable pain in her life, and borrowed the film to compensate for this shock. Her sincerity was recognized and accepted by the public, and it also resonated at the same time. It is often said that the success of a film depends on the right people at the right time and place.
Although Jia Ling directed the film for the first time, technically it cannot be compared with other blockbusters during the Chinese New Year of the same period. The film begins by explaining the relationship between the protagonist Jia Xiaoling and her mother, and then she was admitted to the hospital in a car accident, and then traveled back to 1981 to meet her young mother encounter, pretending to be my mother's cousin, make my mother happy, and at the same time I want to change my mother's destiny and make her life better. In controlling the rhythm of comedy, Jia Ling and a group of comedians are completely handy, Li Huanying played by Zhang Xiaofei, Shen Teng plays Shen Guanglin, the son of the factory manager, they have been working with Jia Ling, including her mentor Feng Gong, also came to make a cameo appearance, he play the old worker who returned to his hometown also threw out his famous line "I miss you all", which shows Jia Ling's advantage in her "good connection". In the last half hour of the film, the plot took a turn for the worse. Jia Xiaoling decided to return to the modern age and waited for a moment on the road. He was accompanied by Zhang Jiang played by He Huan and Leng Te played by Chen He. Zhang Jiang was the one who came to 1981, the first person she met, the three of them waited for a long time, and there was no change. Jia Xiaoling had to sit down with the two to eat a bag. During the chat, she was shocked to realize the truth. Jia Ling's handling was quite subtle, a careless audience may not get it for a while, but after passing through paragraphs of memories, the audience suddenly realized, and moved to tears together with Jia Xiaoling in the film. Jia Ling didn't spend too much energy on fancy techniques, only a little thought on theatrical effects. It can be said that it ends. This is also the most valuable part of the film. In the blockbuster, "Hi, Mom" returns to the most simple film skills. Before the end of the film, Jia Xiaoling returned to the hospital bed before the crossing, her mother had left, and the camera extended to the woods outside the window, a leaf fluttering in the wind, such a direct and metaphorical "tree prefer calm while wind not subside (son choose filial while parents died)", Jia Ling brings this part of the shock to the last scene, fantasizing about swimming with her mother in a car, satisfying her life with the film that can't make up for the lack of her mother.
As for Zhang Xiaofei, who plays Li Huanying, she was born in the Dance Department of the Minzu University of China, and was admitted to the Performance Department of the Beijing Film Academy. She was in the same class as Yang Mi and Yuan Shanshan, but she could only play the role of an idle character. Later, she joined the China Broadcasting Performing Arts Group. Since then, she has become a comedian and has worked closely with Jia Ling. She also admits that Jia Ling is her noble person. Jia Ling once stood up to speak for Zhang Xiaofei when she was bullied and ridiculed by the crew and famous classmates. She even believed that Zhang Xiaofei must be a big hit and only owed one film. In the end, Jia Ling completed an impossible task for her partner and friend. Make her a five billion movie star. The experience of Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei in the entertainment industry is a common phenomenon in China and other regions, and because the two have gone through a period of hardships, they both understand that in addition to talent and opportunities, there is also tacit understanding and help between people. It has always been a people industry. In addition to the film itself resonating with the public in "Hi, Mom", the stories of Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei further add color to the film. Jia Ling's frankness and magnanimity about her career and partners are also reflected in her film. It can be said that it is a model for a new generation of Chinese filmmakers.
By Kam Po LAM (original in Chinese)
For non-local audience, if "Hi, Mom" was not so popular in the Mainland China and became a hot topic among the public, many Mainland comedians such as Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei would not have received attention. You can see the power of the film and radiation level, and it still has a strong power. Audiences who pay attention to Mainland China TV variety shows should not be unfamiliar with Jia Ling. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with a major in cross talk performance and was admitted to the China Broadcasting Performing Arts Group, and was supported and helped by the cross talk superstar Feng Gong of the same group and spent the hard years. Over the years, she has gradually changed from a cross talk show to an actor in a comedy variety show. In 2016, she founded Big Bowl Entertainment Culture Media Co. Ltd, which developed two lines in front of the stage and behind the scenes. "Hi, Mom" is the first film produced by Big Bowl.
There are comments that "Hi, Mom" can stand out in the Chinese New Year schedule in 2021, because due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the public will stay in the place of residence, and watching movies has become the most popular entertainment. In addition, it was affected by the epidemic in 2020, many films could not be released, which also made the public have a strong desire for the films in the 2021 Chinese New Year. The film tells about the mother-daughter family relationship, and the dramatic effect of tears in laughter, it also makes the society full of depression in 2020, which has been affected by the epidemic, get warm comfort and relieve the depression in the heart. Jia Ling is full of her thoughts for her mother and her regret for not being able to live a good life for her mother. She used the film to express her feelings and dedicated the film to ordinary mothers in the world, which moved the audience and really made her laugh. Comedy with tears works best.
In "Hi, Mom", Jia Ling travels back to 1981 according to the story of her and her mother. The year before she was born, Chinese society embarked on the initial stage of Reform and Opening-up, the simple and hopeful years. In the past 40 years, Chinese society has undergone tremendous changes and development, and there have been countless shocks and losses. Today's achievements are the result of a period of extraordinary hardships. Just as Jia Ling became famous, she couldn't forget that her mother died in an accident in her first year at the Central Academy of Drama. She rushed back to Hubei from Beijing, but she still couldn't see her mother for the last time, and she couldn't share her achievements today with her mother, became an irreparable pain in her life, and borrowed the film to compensate for this shock. Her sincerity was recognized and accepted by the public, and it also resonated at the same time. It is often said that the success of a film depends on the right people at the right time and place.
Although Jia Ling directed the film for the first time, technically it cannot be compared with other blockbusters during the Chinese New Year of the same period. The film begins by explaining the relationship between the protagonist Jia Xiaoling and her mother, and then she was admitted to the hospital in a car accident, and then traveled back to 1981 to meet her young mother encounter, pretending to be my mother's cousin, make my mother happy, and at the same time I want to change my mother's destiny and make her life better. In controlling the rhythm of comedy, Jia Ling and a group of comedians are completely handy, Li Huanying played by Zhang Xiaofei, Shen Teng plays Shen Guanglin, the son of the factory manager, they have been working with Jia Ling, including her mentor Feng Gong, also came to make a cameo appearance, he play the old worker who returned to his hometown also threw out his famous line "I miss you all", which shows Jia Ling's advantage in her "good connection". In the last half hour of the film, the plot took a turn for the worse. Jia Xiaoling decided to return to the modern age and waited for a moment on the road. He was accompanied by Zhang Jiang played by He Huan and Leng Te played by Chen He. Zhang Jiang was the one who came to 1981, the first person she met, the three of them waited for a long time, and there was no change. Jia Xiaoling had to sit down with the two to eat a bag. During the chat, she was shocked to realize the truth. Jia Ling's handling was quite subtle, a careless audience may not get it for a while, but after passing through paragraphs of memories, the audience suddenly realized, and moved to tears together with Jia Xiaoling in the film. Jia Ling didn't spend too much energy on fancy techniques, only a little thought on theatrical effects. It can be said that it ends. This is also the most valuable part of the film. In the blockbuster, "Hi, Mom" returns to the most simple film skills. Before the end of the film, Jia Xiaoling returned to the hospital bed before the crossing, her mother had left, and the camera extended to the woods outside the window, a leaf fluttering in the wind, such a direct and metaphorical "tree prefer calm while wind not subside (son choose filial while parents died)", Jia Ling brings this part of the shock to the last scene, fantasizing about swimming with her mother in a car, satisfying her life with the film that can't make up for the lack of her mother.
As for Zhang Xiaofei, who plays Li Huanying, she was born in the Dance Department of the Minzu University of China, and was admitted to the Performance Department of the Beijing Film Academy. She was in the same class as Yang Mi and Yuan Shanshan, but she could only play the role of an idle character. Later, she joined the China Broadcasting Performing Arts Group. Since then, she has become a comedian and has worked closely with Jia Ling. She also admits that Jia Ling is her noble person. Jia Ling once stood up to speak for Zhang Xiaofei when she was bullied and ridiculed by the crew and famous classmates. She even believed that Zhang Xiaofei must be a big hit and only owed one film. In the end, Jia Ling completed an impossible task for her partner and friend. Make her a five billion movie star. The experience of Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei in the entertainment industry is a common phenomenon in China and other regions, and because the two have gone through a period of hardships, they both understand that in addition to talent and opportunities, there is also tacit understanding and help between people. It has always been a people industry. In addition to the film itself resonating with the public in "Hi, Mom", the stories of Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei further add color to the film. Jia Ling's frankness and magnanimity about her career and partners are also reflected in her film. It can be said that it is a model for a new generation of Chinese filmmakers.
By Kam Po LAM (original in Chinese)
Emotional movie but plot feels little incomplete
vyucjkcp14 February 2021
I had a positive time watching it
r96sk12 January 2024
Too long, but very sweet.
'Hi, Mom' is a film that holds a lot of heart thanks to how serious it can get plot-wise, though as well manages to blend in a fair amount of comedy too - the language barrier on my part does probably hamper it slightly as you'd expect, but even I got some chuckles out of it.
Jia Ling (also writer, director) is front and centre throughout and puts in a good performance, the latter also goes for Zhang Xiaofei, Shen Teng and, in a smaller display, Liu Jia. As noted at the top, I did find the run time to be overcooked; not convinced this needed to be 2 hours in length, personally. That's my only real criticism though.
The score is well done, some bits kept reminding me of the music from 'Toy Story 2' for some odd reason. Not that that's a bad thing, nor is the film itself. I had a positive time watching it and that's all you can ask, really.
'Hi, Mom' is a film that holds a lot of heart thanks to how serious it can get plot-wise, though as well manages to blend in a fair amount of comedy too - the language barrier on my part does probably hamper it slightly as you'd expect, but even I got some chuckles out of it.
Jia Ling (also writer, director) is front and centre throughout and puts in a good performance, the latter also goes for Zhang Xiaofei, Shen Teng and, in a smaller display, Liu Jia. As noted at the top, I did find the run time to be overcooked; not convinced this needed to be 2 hours in length, personally. That's my only real criticism though.
The score is well done, some bits kept reminding me of the music from 'Toy Story 2' for some odd reason. Not that that's a bad thing, nor is the film itself. I had a positive time watching it and that's all you can ask, really.
Good film, but overlong with boring second act...
paulclaassen29 May 2021
We've certainly seen a fare share of time travel movies in every conceivable genre. This comedy drama might initially come across as a predictable time travel movie, but hey, this is Korean cinema, so it's not all that predictable.
'Hi, Mom' is beautifully filmed with good photography and cinematography, and I found the protagonist, Jia Xiao Ling, absolutely adorable - well portrayed by Ling Jia. For most part the film is a comedy, but - just like 'Miracle in Cell No. 7', turns dramatic very quickly during the finale.
The film went from an interesting and promising start to a rather slow and somewhat boring second act, with little that interested me. It just felt too long, with too much (unnecessary) detail. There were also a few character issues I won't mention in order to avoid spoilers. The film then sort of redeemed itself during the third act, and the finale grabbed me - like a stake through the heart! Ling Jia stole the show in every scene she was in. She was wonderful! 'Hi, Mom' is a very sad, feel-good movie, with a powerful message.
'Hi, Mom' was a huge box office success, raking in $841 million on a $59 million budget. It became the second highest grossing foreign language film of all time, and so far the highest grossing film of 2021 - during a time when social distancing was still the order of the day due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
While it was indeed a good film, the above facts are beyond comprehension. It really wasn't that great a movie... was it?
'Hi, Mom' is beautifully filmed with good photography and cinematography, and I found the protagonist, Jia Xiao Ling, absolutely adorable - well portrayed by Ling Jia. For most part the film is a comedy, but - just like 'Miracle in Cell No. 7', turns dramatic very quickly during the finale.
The film went from an interesting and promising start to a rather slow and somewhat boring second act, with little that interested me. It just felt too long, with too much (unnecessary) detail. There were also a few character issues I won't mention in order to avoid spoilers. The film then sort of redeemed itself during the third act, and the finale grabbed me - like a stake through the heart! Ling Jia stole the show in every scene she was in. She was wonderful! 'Hi, Mom' is a very sad, feel-good movie, with a powerful message.
'Hi, Mom' was a huge box office success, raking in $841 million on a $59 million budget. It became the second highest grossing foreign language film of all time, and so far the highest grossing film of 2021 - during a time when social distancing was still the order of the day due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
While it was indeed a good film, the above facts are beyond comprehension. It really wasn't that great a movie... was it?
Only good movie for parents
mailtaskservice10 October 2021
All about the soft spot called MOM
DiogenesClub718 February 2021
Once the truck hit the bike...I was done
housearrestedever11 August 2022
I don't care if the ratings are very high from 7/10 to 10/10, soon as the truck hit the bike and then the hospital scene came up, I was completely dumbfounded by the laziness and lack of respect for the audiences' I. Q. You can do whatever you like to make a comedy, but you should be very careful not making it become a laughable farce. The mother and the daughter were both on the same bicycle when the truck came out of nowhere without any sound and hit them. When the next scene appeared, we saw the daughter sat beside her mother's sickbed crying. Yeah, right, first, the truck must be an electric Tesla, coming out of nowhere without any engine sound. Secondly, the mother was in ER, fatally struck by the silent truck, yet the daughter who rode behind her mother was not wounded, not even with a scratch! Then the movie suddenly turned into a fantasy, a complete farce. It's about that time I quit watching to avoid further brain damage.
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