A Beautiful Life (2011)

This movie gave me butterflies in my stomach, which is kind of rare in romantic dramas and movies nowadays.

While the story is more of a "slow burn" in romance, the chemistry between the actors is STRONG and gives the film its intensity. The Holly Golightly-type heroine is slightly more vulnerable than you’d expect, which makes her more likable as you watch the film than maybe you would on paper. Definitely watch for Liu Ye’s discreet facial expressions of a reserved man who has fallen head-over-heels in love and desperately trying to hide it.

This film seems like two movies in one, but they both seem like such great stories, that you don't feel too much disconnect once the first set of plot points are completely abandoned. Very rewatchable.

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Asia has a unique flavor of romcom that includes stirring in the melodrama about halfway through. Don’t let that description scare you away though! This Chinese movie may contain some sadness but it isn't overwhelming. Plus the comedy in the beginning is well-written and the development of the onscreen romance is uber sweet. Both Qi Shu and Ye Liu do a great job with their characters and their chemistry is amazing. Although I’m not a huge fan of Qi Shu’s border-anorexic look in this movie, I love her acting in this and some other films. She commits to her character and manages to bring some spunk while still being vulnerable and relate-able.

(above originally from my blog review/article on the movie)

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Tears were out of my control

I was really drawn from the very start to Liu Ye's character. His character was that of an incredibly simple, honest, grounded, and heart-warming man with the best intentions so I felt very comfortable supporting his story through the majority of the movie. I'm also a sucker for simple romances of everyday people with the "indie" camera work that can be found in a lot of Asian movies so I was rolling with it. Around 3/4 of it, I started to get tired of the minor plot holes and the Peiru because honestly I don't think that woman was up to the rare diamond of a man Fang Zhendong was, BUT. Their exchange where she told him he'd blessed her with an angel, his utter shock that "she'd want his child from someone like him" and her THANKING HIM for being in her life hit me like a truck. I'm tearing up writing this and thinking of that scene now. I didn't even expect that brick load of tears but I was sobbing and kept crying over new scenes every 5 minutes after that. My nose was stuffy and I was roaring with tears especially for the last 5 minutes as well. I did not expect or prepare myself for this movie even though I should have known it was emotional since that's why it's so famous.
One thing that stood out to me and triggered more sobs was the thought of Peiru's (possible) regrets? She used this angel of a man and honestly did not appreciate him for long enough when he was still healthy and able to express his love for her as much as HE wanted and they almost parted on an argument??? I would probably never be able to get over that regret or forgive myself. It seemed like such an everlasting burden to be honest but the portrayal of their love was fantastic.
Overall, I was VERY unprepared for all these unexpected emotions.

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HEART WARMING

Omg I almost cried several times watching this!! The ending was AMAZING! So happy I can across this movie.


I love how whenever she called, he was there! You could tell he had love for her from the start.

Yea she was a bit of a brat in the beginning but not too much, barely imo. I feel like there is another way to describe her actions but I loved her..


She is gorgeous asf and her acting is amazing.

The male lead is amazing too!! Everyone played their part so well! This is definitely going on my “must watch again” list.


Usually when I rewatch things I scroll through it to get to my favorite parts, but everything about the movie was my favorite part🫶🏼

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Touching film

If I'd had to rate this movie halfway through, I would have probably given it a MUCH lower score, purely based on my dissatisfaction with the character of Li Peiru. She was drunk (a lot), selfish, a user, AND she thought she was "all that and a bag of chips". I struggle to watch things when the main characters have no redeeming value.

That said, by the end, my opinion had changed drastically.

ACTING: The acting was top-notch by everyone, especially Liu Ye as Fang Zhengdong. He was such a lovely character - upstanding, caring (for friends, family, co-workers and public that he encountered in his job), yet terribly lonely. His micro-expressions were spot-on. His love for Li Peiru was so strong, so pure, yet you could see that he didn't quite understand it. As his health deteriorated, the way he displayed the anger, the paranoia and the fear really made me cry. Shu Qi as Li Peiru sometimes felt to me that she was overacting, but once her character finally arched to a reasonable human being, watching her awaken to actual caring emotions for others was wonderful to watch.

STORY: This was a story that addressed so many different emotions, most of which we, as the audience, can identify with. I loved watching the inevitable transfer of power, going from someone that takes care of everyone else, to knowing that you will need to be taken care of. It was a romance deeply felt between the main characters and their efforts to determine what was important and what they were willing to do for love.

This movie really got me in the feels.

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Beautiful Love Makes a Beautiful Life °7.4° °VG°

Alert!

Beautiful girl.

Alone.

DRUNK.

Black slinky dress and red platform shoes.

/Someone/ should look out for her.

She stumbles onto Fang, but another dude arrives to assist her, so Fang walks away. But Fang made an impression, so while he's walking home, she's ba-aack! And she jumps on /his/ back.

“I'll buy you coffee sometime,” was how the night ended. They soon run into eachother a couple more times. Yes, she remembers him; she wasn't /that/ drunk. She gives him her card and makes more promises about future coffee. Next, she sees him in the grocery store and /demands/ his help in making dumplings. He complies. When her sig-other comes home, however, she acts like Fang's the plumber.

Ouch.

She seems to think she's a cat that can sit on anyone's lap and be loved. Look at how cute she is, afterall! Due to the success of the dumplings, she's now in the habit of calling Fang for all kinds of help. We soon learn that her sig-other has a much /more significant/ other of his own. She's going to need lots of help.

ABL is a 2011 124-minute release that is rated 92 on AWiki. It is a beautiful story, and it is completely different from a typical Chinese modern-day feature. That's probably because it's a collaboration with Hong Kong. It feels like we're watching real people from a camera in the corner of the room.

Liu Ye (First Night Nerves) plays ML Fang Zhengdong. He lives with his brother, who has communication struggles and needs looking after. Fang seems to be a natural nurturer. Shu Qi (Good Autumn, Mommy) portrays FL Li Peiru. Everyone in her life is selfish. Once she meets Fang, she just keeps comin back round to him because he is something entirely strange and new. It's mutual. They are obviously drawn to eachother. Over time, a bond forms and continues to get stronger. In the beginning, it's him helping her, but she gets a chance to return the favor.

ABL is just lovely. It is a romance that would please more than romance-junkies. These are two lonely people, and as opposite personalities, they each handle loneliness in their own ways. As a policeman, Fang handles it in an orderly manner by keeping his head down and fulfilling responsibilities. Li acts out in a disorderly fashion. She's often drunk and disorderly. One cop took notice, and 2 lonely lives became one beautiful life together.


〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.6 📝7.4 🎭8 💓7 🦋5.5 🎨6.5 🎵/🔊7.2 🔚8 🤗8 ▪ 🌞6.5 ⚡3.5 😅2 😭4 😱2 😯3 🤢3.5 🤔4.5 💤0


Age 13+ adult situations and mild sexual content

Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned

Re-📺? Would

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