Ni hao, Li Huanying

The highest grossing film of 2021 so far is a sincerely crafted & emotionally uplifting story of love, loss, family, regret & wish fulfilment that centres on a mother-daughter bonding and is curated with heart & compassion. Packed with laughs yet capable of tugging the heartstrings, it is a sweet, simple & sentimental family drama that works as advertised.

Co-written & directed by Jia Ling in her directorial debut who also stars as the lead, the film uses the time travel framework only to transport itself into the past where it works on reforging the relationship between a woman & her mother. It's a safe play but the script is witty throughout and its emotional authenticity shines through, thus making it a pleasant delight for all.

Ling is fantastic throughout, both in front & behind the camera and her performance is the glue that holds this story together. Her grip on comedic elements is also spot-on for the most part. The 1980s setting plays to its strength. All supporting roles are well-drawn & finely acted. And the central relationship is captured with honesty. Still, its pacing is uneven at times and it sure is overlong.

Overall, Hi, Mom makes for a lovely tribute from a daughter to her mother and brims with all the ingredients that's required for it to be a crowdpleaser. A typical fare by all means, the film in many ways is far from the best version of itself yet its arrival is apt & fitting as it exudes a familial warmth & sense of community that many viewers lost in this raging pandemic, and it is bound to move & resonate with some of them if not all.

A tear quencher, you can easily tell how much this film means to Jia Lin. However, apart from the ending, while the rest of the film is funny, it is very much in the mold of recent Chinese comedies, and it is greatly helped out by a very strong supporting cast. The last 10 or so minutes is not an easy accomplishment though, it is very much a career and lifetime defining moment for someone to pour this much personal emotions on film. Accomplishing this is perhaps more important than any amount of box office for Jia.

The movie is a good interpretation of maternal love, Maternal love is incomparable love no matter how you give back. And the structure of the movie is clever. The director wants to use this movie to dedicate her mother to make up for her regrets for her mother, just like the protagonist in the movie tries her best to make up her regrets after time travel, but finally you will find you cannot make up the maternal love no matter what you do.

If you could go back in time, where would you go? To this question, Jia Ling answers: back to before my mom was married! Through this movie, she travels back in time to make her mom's life "better." This movie is Jia Ling's tribute to her late mother, who passed away when Jia Ling was only 19. She integrates humor to tell an incredible story. The second half of the film is what really gets the tears flowing. The story is incredibly beautiful, and the emotions are extremely raw and real. I laughed from start to end, but found myself unable to hold back tears. A mother's love for her child and a child's realization... truly a must see. I highly recommend this film!

The plot is very humorous, the love between mother and daughter is also reflected incisively and vividly.But there are some details that deserve a little bit more refinement. There's a little bit of emotional sublimation, but there's still a little bit of lack of feeling, you know, the smooth feeling of the movie.