Audiences are cramming into Chinese movie theaters to watch a sentimental comedy that has rapidly become one of the most popular films of all time in the country and marks a triumphant debut for its female director.
Since its release two weeks ago, Jia Ling’s (賈玲) Hi, Mom has become the fourth best-selling film ever in China, with ticket sales of at least 4.3 billion yuan (US$670 million), box-office tracker Maoyan said.
If it continues its monumental success, Hi, Mom could become the highest-grossing movie ever by a female director.
Photo: AFP
Jia also plays the lead role as the daughter who travels back to 1981, before she was born, and tries to give her mother a better life than the one she had the first time.
The film is partly biographical and an ode to Jia’s mother, who died in an accident when Jia was 19.
“Mom, don’t go, don’t leave me,” Jia says in the film — dissolving many in cinema audiences into tears, even though it is for the most part a comedy.
Chinese cinemas are largely back to normal after the country wrestled down COVID-19 infections to a comparative trickle, and the film has given many a renewed appreciation of their mothers.
“I have never thought before that my mom was also a young girl in the past,” college student Yu Yanting said, after seeing the film in Shanghai.
Thirteen-year-old Vittoria and younger sister Valeria, 11, were inconsolable after watching it with their mother.
“I hope they will appreciate mommy more now,” their mother Elaine said, holding her two daughters close.
Overcoming her tears after a few minutes, a red-eyed Vittoria said from behind her mask: “All my friends are crying to this film, but maybe not as much as me.”
Jia, who prior to this was best-known as a comedian in the male-dominated world of Chinese comedy, said that she was “tormented” when her mother died suddenly.
However, she hopes that rather than thinking of it as a sad film, audiences would appreciate her mother’s spirit and optimism.
“Our mom’s love for us is like air — it is there since we were born, so we often ignore it,” Jia told reporters.
“However, when we lose it, we experience a sense of suffocation and helplessness,” Jia added.
Film critic Jing Runcheng (井潤成) said that Hi, Mom has become an outlet for Chinese to let their pent-up emotions flow, and knowing it is based on a true story gives it an extra impact.
“Chinese people are really introverted and not good at expressing their feelings,” Jing said. “You never imagine Chinese people will suddenly, after watching a movie or reading something, run to their mothers and tell them they love them. But after watching this film, it helps give you that opportunity.”
Hi, Mom has been trending on Sina Weibo, with one hashtag relating to the film drawing more than 1.5 billion views.
Many people have taken to Sina Weibo to celebrate their mothers, posting pictures of themselves together or snaps of their mothers when they were young.
The film has also sparked discussion online about what people would tell their mothers if they could go back in time, like in the film.
Many said that they would tell their mothers not to marry their fathers or have children.
Marriage breakups have surged over the past two decades in China, as divorce laws have been liberalized and women have become more financially independent.
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