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By Scanews Staff
A matchmaker finds the perfect wife for Zhao, but he
promises her a wedding far more extravagant than he can afford. Desperate to please his fiancee
after leading her to believe he is rich, Zhao decides to start the "Happy
Times Hotel" - actually a remodeled old bus designed to give
young couples in need of privacy an hourly respite from prying eyes. The bittersweet comedy
Happy Times is the second film from director Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red
Lantern, Shanghai Triad) to be set in a modern city.
"Happy Times", Chinese, Comedy and Romance, 1 hr. 35 min.
Happy Times is a small but broad Chinese language comedy about human nature when it comes to love and the pursuit of happiness. Middle-aged Ding Shikou visits a matchmaker to find a wife. Finally, she sends him the perfect one. Desperate to impress her, Ding promises her a far more extravagant wedding than he can afford, leading her to believe he is rich. Then desperate, to make money, Ding refurbishes an abandoned railway car on Lover's Lane and charges admission for young couples wandering by. Up in the woods, he discovers a young blind girl who's just attempted suicide. He saves her life this time only to witness her attempt again. She tells him she wouldn't be so desperate if she had a job, so he offers one at his hotel, in hopes of re-instilling the will to live in her. Ding tells her a tangled and hilarious mess of lies in order to employ her. He even has a group of old retirees create a fake hotel environment in an abandoned factory, so she believes she has a legitimate job. Finally, he must tell her the truth and come clean to his fiancee, which turns out to be both a heartbreaking and hilarious life lesson for all involved.
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and language.
 
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