Little Big Women

With the tradition and Chinese culture this movie performed it impeccably. Taiwan is one of the countries with strong family value and love surround between people. Mainland China cannot make this kind of movie as their product is always overdramatic, hk and Singapore won't have this background support and will become lame for this topic and always commercial kind. This movie just so natural and telling a story in a woman family. It just full of love and tears from this movie, if you have connection with any Taiwanese and been in their culture, you will like it.

Personally, I was very emotional throughout many scenes in this movie. Mainly because I am a Chinese to Canada immigrant. The countless words in English cannot describe what I felt and what I am feeling after I watched this film. I felt connected, and for the first time, emotionally invested in this film. Although it is a Taiwanese film, our culture is not too different. I felt warmth from this movie, sadness, nostalgia, and it was, in a sense, relatable. If I did not have the background I do, I wouldn't be giving this movie such a high rating. The plot wasn't especially exceptional, and a lot of things may be confusing. However, it really tugs on my heartstrings. It opens my eyes to family connections, about letting go, and really impacted me because of certain experiences in real life. Overall, I found this a great film, but that is a complete personal opinion.

The movie did its job to hold a big concern with the mother for over 2 hours, & unfold smoothly at the end, & close nicely, revealing beautiful personas of each character, even the farther. What they did are just to carry out their responsibilities as a member in the family, a mother, a husband, a daughter & sisters, with all the love they have got, in their own way. There would be better solution for each situation that was draw out in the story, yet, all their fragile actions make the movie so emotional & warm.

I love the movie & how it was told.

When an absent father dies, his daughters clash with their mother.

A family drama in Taiwan, far from the canons we're used to by Hollywood studios.

I am more and more attracted to slow-burners like this one, where we are treated, little by little, with the elements that build the narrative, in a very intelligent way.

The way it's structured allows the viewer to change their opinion about the developments that they see on screen, and to root for different characters, as the story unfolds.

It's mainly about reflection, morality and rigidity of tradition, and being at peace, on a personal level, and then with others, and letting life take the course it is supposed to.

The recurring flashbacks can be confusing sometimes, without the proper context.

There's no jaw-dropping twists, just surprises, that I personally liked. The final scenes are undoubtedly the highlight of the film, and well worth the wait.

Joseph Chen-chieh Hsu illustrates an important message about the importance of moving on against the luscious beauty that is Tainan, Taiwan. Unfortunately poor pacing and under whelming drama prevents the film from hitting hard.

On her 70th Birthday, Lin Xiuying (Played by Shu-Fang Chen) makes grand birthday celebrations that quickly transform into funeral plans when her estranged husband who she has not seen in over a decade passes away. Without hesitation as a traditional Hoklo woman, she plans her husbands mourning and funeral grudgingly. The rest delves into her emotions over her husband and the reality of her actual feelings.

To my understanding, this is Hsu's debut feature film which went on to be last year's highest grossing film in Taiwan, which for a regional language film is surprising. You feel the deep passionate love for his country, especially Tainan. Temples, streets, markets, seashores, restaurants are all vividly displayed with their colors complimenting them on screen. The audio, while appearing rather minimally, usually knows how to hit the emotions just right. Much of the natural sounds like deep-frying, traffic, and the clicking of heels on the floor, provide a rather pleasant experience on the ears, almost transporting you there.

I applaud the cast a lot, its rare to see a film almost exclusively led by women, that to directed by a man. Everyone's acting most notably Shu-Fang Chen and Ying-Hsuan Hsieh were extremely well done.

Sadly what didn't work for the film was the lack of overall connectivity, and the lack of backstory that could have help me connect with Lin and why it was so hard to let go. There is a lack of heart wrenching emotional events that make us want to strongly empathize with her or her daughters.

Overall, its not a terrible film. Hsu has an essay about the importance of letting go that becomes apparent in the end. Unfortunately, it could have been amplified with better on screen management of events, possibly more focus on the matriarchy and less of the daughters.