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Zhao is an aging bachelor who hasn’t been lucky in love. Thinking he has finally met the woman of his dreams, Zhao leads her to believe he is wealthy and agrees to a wedding far beyond his means. Zhao’s best friend Li hatches the idea to raise the money by refurbishing an abandoned bus to rent out by the hour—the Happy Times Hotel—to young couples starved for privacy. Meanwhile, Zhao’s fiancé introduces him to her spoiled son and beautiful blind stepdaughter Wu Ying, whom she sees as a burden. To get rid of the girl, she insists that Zhao take her to the Happy Times Hotel and give her a job. Zhao reluctantly agrees then creates a series of deceptions to keep the girl occupied, including setting her up as a masseuse and enlisting his friends to pretend to be her customers. Everything that is happening between Zhao and Wu is superficially about trickery, but gradually a very real empathy grows between the young woman and the old man. Based on Shifu, You’ll Do Anything for a Laugh by Yan Mo.
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Director: Yimou Zhang
Screenplay: Gai Zi
Cast: Benshan Zhao, Jie Dong
Executive Producers: Edward R. Pressman, Terrence Malick, Wang Wei, Ping Zhou
Co-Producer: Erin O’Rourke
Distributor: 20th Century Fox (International), Sony Pictures Classics (Domestic)
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PRESS:
AWARDS:
Won:
Silver Spike (Yimou Zhang), Best Actress (Jie Dong), FIPRESCI Prize / Valladolid International Film Festival, 2002
Nominated:
Golden Spike, Yimou Zhang, Valladolid International Film Festival, 2002
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