Wo he ba ba

I was surprised how much I liked "My Father and I." After Xiao Yu's mother died in an accident, she moved back to live with her birth father who she knows little about. Gradually, they grew to know each other and to accept each other for who they are. They share the unconditional love between a daughter and a father through their happiness and their difficulties.

No matter how frustrated we are, we simply have to accept and tolerate who our parents are. Eventually, we will have to forgive their mistakes and we have to struggle with the generation gap for as long as we are together with them. This film brilliantly displays the tender relationship between the father and the daughter with an observant lens and a warm heart.

This film is the director Xu Jinglei¡¯s first experience to show us her genius in grasping and holding slight emotion between father and daughter. It depict the days they know each other, live together and finally depart from each other by a slight and equivocal voice which contains the perspective of eastern culture. The emotion between father and daughter may be an combination of relative, love, friendship. Maybe one day I will also depart from my parents for some certain reason. The piece of emotion will contradict to the separation. I don¡¯t know how I could do for my parents and for myself. These all appear to me are unknown number. But I want to say is that now during my studying in college school parents give me infinite concerning which extremely touch me. From a small child to a mature human being, my parents tell me so many things that will benefit in my whole life. The days I lived with them may be the most important times in my whole life. I certainly remember that my father once told me, ¡°Life appears to you is too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.¡± Yes, that¡¯s perfect. It opens clearly on my comprehension that every difficulties were solved instantly when it reaches me. Also, the pretty happy days when we were with each other give me optimistic and sanguine characteristic. I know it¡¯s necessary that we must smile to our future because it is hopeful and we need patient and diligent to go on it.

It is nearly midnight, and I am lying on my stomach in bed, memory goes on in my mind. Father¡¯s smile is so close to me that I can touch him nearly. Several years after, perhaps I will live in another city in somewhere. My parents in the times may be have white hairs, may be not as well as now, may be missing me so much. But I have my own life separating from them. How is the empty nest sensation? I have no idea. What I can do now is how to do my best to care for them and to cherish today¡¯s life. I will and can do my best, I believe it.

Jinglei Xu is a talented actor, writer, and director, all of which she performs here. This is her directorial debut, produced while still in her twenties. It shows lots of promise. The characters are engaging, the direction mostly assured (up to a point), and while the story arc is worthwhile overall, the script used in bringing it to fruition comes up a little short in the third act. The first two acts setting up the characters and relationships are wonderful but when it came time for the drama to enter and make something of the relationships, things start to meander and too much is stirred in too quickly to create a satisfying conclusion. A little restraint, leaving the film as a slice of life rather than a big meaningful drama would have been better.