Lost and Love (2015)

Story:
If you're into tear-jerkers this one's for you.
I pretty much spent the whole movie bawling my eyes out. Tears of pain, joy, sadness, desperation, laughing.. it has everything.
If you're more the romantic-comedy-type..... well obviously this is no lovestory in the romantic sense. But the title "Lost and Love" is certainly earned.
The movie deals with the sadly very real problem of child-trafficking in China, but it doesn't focus so much on the actual abduction, but more on the aftermath.
The main plot points are the love of parents endlessly searching for their lost children, the love of adoptive-parents terrified of loosing theirs and the children's love for the parents they never knew and the parents who raised them.
But the "bromance" (or in this case more like a "father-son-mace") between the man looking for his abducted son and the boy looking for his parents is what really drives this movies in my opinion.

Acting/Cast:
Well, Tony Lau - need I say more? There is a reason why he's considered one of the TOP Chinese actors and he does not fail to deliver in this movie either. He portrays the father's pain, desperation and uncertainty perfectly. The character is very relateable and by the end of the movie I felt like I actually know this man.
When it comes to Jing Bo Ran I have to admit I'm probably a little biased... I mean come one, the man's eye candy (and may or may not have been the initial reason I chose to watch this movie) - so don't judge me. I've watched a few of his movies and one drama and must say that I liked his performance in this movie more than most others. Obviously his acting is a little overshadowed by the one and only Andy Lau, but that's not really a fair fight. All in all I can say that I was definitely impressed.

Music:
I'm not much of a soundtrack-person. To me personally it wasn't very memorable, but then I have always felt like that's not actually it's purpose. It sets the right mood and doesn't distract from the story... so for me the soundtrack did what it was supposed to do - no more, no less.

Rewatch Value:
Pretty much the same as with the soundtrack... I personally don't really rewatch movies or dramas.... once I know the story the appeal for me is kind of gone, there is no more excitement to find out how the story goes on and a captivating story to me is what makes a good movie a good movie. So I can't really comment on this topic.

Overall I can say that I loved this movie and will happily recommend it.

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"If you search, fate grows. If you give up, fate dies"

In 2015 it was estimated 20,000 children in China had been stolen and trafficked just for that year. Some were sold for adoption, others for forced labor or prostitution. Lost and Love told the story based on a real-life father who had spent 15 years chasing down leads and searching for his child all over China. Andy Lau gave one of his best performances as the determined father who would never stop in his quest to be reunited with his son.

Lei Ze Kuan rides his motorcycle with flags displaying missing children’s faces as he chases down leads on his missing son. After a road accident he meets Zeng Shuai when the young man fixes his bike. It turns out that Shuai was a kidnapped child and “adopted” by the family he lives with. The family has been good to him, but because of his unknown status he cannot go to university, marry, ride the train, or any other thing which requires an id card. He asks Lei to take a side trip and go with him to check on clues as to where his family might be. The two men bond during their road trip seeking the truth they both desperately want.

I’ve watched many films with Andy Lau, but Lost and Love is the first one where I wasn’t constantly reminded by his acting that he was “Andy Lau.” He gave a vulnerable performance as a father who was ridden with guilt and anguished over his loss. This understated interpretation was quite moving. Jing Bo Ran also gave a realistic performance as a lost son torn between wanting to find his biological parents and not wanting to betray his adoptive parents. The chemistry between the two quickly evolved into a surrogate family as they traversed the country. As they grew closer there were several tender and playful moments between them.

Peng San Yuan based the story on real life father, Guo Gang Tang. She added another missing child whose story with Sandra Ng as a trafficker was woven throughout the film, though it did turn melodramatic. Peng illustrated the complicated feelings and responses parents had who lived through the nightmare of having a child stolen from them. Aside from the guilt and fear, the trauma caused marriages to dissolve, mental health to collapse, and for some parents, the despair drove them to suicide. Peng not only wrote the screenplay but also directed the film. The pacing and transitions kept the film flowing even with three stories being told. The film was visually appealing as Peng highlighted the stunning verdant scenery of the countryside and architectural beauty of old chain bridges.

Lost and Love was heartwarming and heartbreaking and did so without falling into the trap of sentimentality. There were a couple of coincidences that were a bit too on the nose, but I’m a sucker for these stories based on real life events and was able to overlook them. I cannot imagine the terror of not knowing if your child was safe and whether you’d ever see them again. I also cannot imagine having the strength to spend every day for nearly two decades following any hint that might bring me closer to that child and dealing with the soul crushing despair every time a lead did not pan out. Lost and Love brought a horrifically painful subject to light while also showing the supportive networks and people trying to reunite families.

If you’d like to see how the real-life father’s story was resolved, see below.

28 August 2024










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After TWENTY-FOUR years, Guo was reunited with his son!!!
This link still works as of this writing:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57815491

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