A Simple Life may have one of the most accurate titles in all of cinema, as the film has a bracingly casual sense of day-to-day working-class life that recalls the films of Jean Renoir or, more recently, Olivier Assayas.
A Simple Life(桃姐)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Hong Kong · 2011
1h 58m
Director Ann Hui
Starring Andy Lau, Deannie Yip, Fuli Wang, Paul Chun Pui
Genre Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Roger Leung is an unmarried film producer who has lived with Chung Chun-to, his family's domestic worker, for his entire life. One day Chung suffers from a stroke and requests to be moved to a nursing home. As Roger assists Chung, their lengthy relationship deepens and blossoms.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
A deceptively simple film, gingerly peels layer after layer of sharp insights into the dynamics of familial love, using compassion and droll humor as its tools. Its strength is that it manages to tap genuine emotion without succumbing to sentimentality.
Suffused with the gentle, unforced humanity viewers have come to expect from Hong Kong helmer Ann Hui, A Simple Life is a tender ode to the elderly, their caregivers and the mutual generosity of spirit that makes their limited time together worthwhile.
Washington Post by Mark Jenkins
The movie is often poignant but leavened with humor.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
A Simple Life is a tear-jerker, but thoughtful and intelligent, with an anti-sentimental dimension.
The New York Times by Rachel Saltz
Ms. Hui, a rare successful female director in the Hong Kong film industry, drew her story from real events, and the movie retains a tonic flavor of the everyday: its drama unfolds simply, without explosive moments but not without emotion. She and her two excellent leads keep the film buoyant.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The movie has an emotional payoff I failed to anticipate. It expresses hope in human nature. It is one of the year's best films.
Director Hui shows a different side to Hong Kong cinema in a tender drama that's illuminated by the marvellous Ip.
Time Out London by Trevor Johnston
Lau’s astute performance is rather like the film as a whole – at first you think it’s underdone, but it’s actually cannily judged to favour genuine feeling over pushy sentimentality.
Users who liked this film also liked
Vampire Party
(Les dents de la nuit)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Luxembourg, Belgium, France • 2008
- Director Stephen Cafiero, Vincent Lobelle
- Cast Patrick Mille, Frédérique Bel, Julie Fournier, Vincent Desagnat, Sam Karmann, Hélène de Fougerolles
- Genre Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Adrift in Tokyo
(転々)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2007
- Director Satoshi Miki
- Cast Joe Odagiri, Tomokazu Miura, Kyoko Koizumi, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Kumiko Aso, Eri Fuse
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Google Play Movies, YouTube
Little Cheung
(細路祥)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, Japan • 1999
- Director Fruit Chan
- Cast Yiu Yuet-Ming, Wai-Fan Mak, Yuet-Man Mak, Sun-yau Chu, Gary Lai, Teoh Chang
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Distant
(Uzak)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Turkey • 2002
- Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Cast Muzaffer Özdemir, Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer, Nazan Kirilmis, Feridun Koc, Fatma Ceylan
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Soldiers of Salamina
(Soldados de Salamina)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2003
- Director David Trueba
- Cast Ariadna Gil, Ramon Fontserè, Diego Luna, María Botto, Joan Dalmau, Luis Cuenca
- Genre Drama, History, War
- Available on No streaming locations found.
All About Women
(女人不坏)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, China • 2008
- Director Tsui Hark
- Cast Zhou Xun, Gwei Lun-mei, Kitty Zhang, Stephen Fung Tak-Lun, Alex Fong, Eddie Peng
- Genre Romance, Comedy
- Available on Cineverse
Ju Dou
(菊豆)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China, Japan • 1990
- Director Zhang Yimou, Yang Fengliang
- Cast Gong Li, Li Wei, Li Baotian, Niu Xingli, Jia Zhaoji, Zhang Yi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV
The Adventurers
(大冒險家)
- ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1995
- Director Ringo Lam
- Cast Andy Lau, Wu Chien-Lien, Rosamund Kwan, Paul Chun, David Chiang, Ben Ngai-Cheung Ng
- Genre Action, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel
The Wesley's Mysterious File
(衛斯理藍血人)
- ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2002
- Director Andrew Lau
- Cast Andy Lau, Rosamund Kwan, Shu Qi, Roy Cheung, Thomas Hudak, Almen Wong
- Genre Science Fiction, Romance, Action
- Available on No streaming locations found.
All About Love
(得閒炒飯)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2010
- Director Ann Hui
- Cast Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Vivian Chow, William Chan Wai-Ting, Eddie Cheung, Jo Kuk Cho-Lam, Joey Meng
- Genre Drama, Comedy, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Cat and Mouse
(老鼠爱上猫)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2003
- Director Gordon Chan
- Cast Andy Lau, Anthony Wong, Cecilia Cheung, Chapman To, Lam Tze-chung, Wu Yue
- Genre Drama, Action, Comedy, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Like You Know It All
(잘 알지도 못하면서)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2009
- Director Hong Sang-soo
- Cast Kim Tae-woo, Uhm Ji-won, Ko Hyun-jung, Gong Hyung-jin, Jung Yu-mi, Seo Young-hwa
- Genre Drama, Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Princess and the Pilot
(とある飛空士への追憶)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2011
- Director Jun Shishido
- Cast Haruka, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Daisuke Ono, Takeshi Tomizawa, Takuto Yoshinaga, Masaki Terasoma
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, AsianCrush, Freevee, Hoopla
That Day, on the Beach
(海灘的一天)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1983
- Director Edward Yang
- Cast Sylvia Chang, Terry Hu, Hsu Ming, David Mao, Hsiao Hou Tao, Lee Lieh
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Cold War
(寒戰)
Asia's safest city is about to be tested.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2012
- Director Sunny Luk Kim-Ching, Leung Lok-man
- Cast Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Andy Lau, Charlie Yeung, Chin Ka-Lok, Gordon Lam
- Genre Action, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, YouTube Free, VUDU Free, Plex, Plex Channel
Pee Mak
(พี่มาก..พระโขนง)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Thailand • 2013
- Director Banjong Pisanthanakun
- Cast Mario Maurer, Davika Hoorne, Nattapong Chartpong, Pongsatorn Jongwilas, Attharut Kongrasri, Kantapat Permpoonpatcharasuk
- Genre Comedy, Romance, Horror
- Available on Apple TV
Saving Mr. Wu
(解救吾先生)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2015
- Director Ding Sheng
- Cast Andy Lau, Liu Ye, Wang Qian-Yuan, Lu Cai, Lam Suet, Wu Ruofu
- Genre Thriller, Crime, Action, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hi-YAH, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, YouTube Free, Pluto TV, AsianCrush, Freevee, Cineverse, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel