The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (Yi ma de hou xian dai sheng huo)

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Comedy, Drama, Romance

An elderly woman discovers her trusting nature is a severe disadvantage in the 21st century in this comedy drama from Chinese filmmaker Ann Hui. Ye Rutang (Siqin Gaowa) was born and raised in Manchuria, but came to Shanghai to seek her fortune years ago.

Now in her early sixties and once again single, Ye is uncomfortably aware that the China she knew as a young woman is changing radically, and she senses she's fallen behind the times when she loses a position as a tutor because her English doesn't sound American enough.

As Ye looks for work, she begins to fall victim to a series of con artists, including a Chinese opera singer (Chow Yun-Fat) who uses his charm to pull her into a scheme selling futures on funeral plots; a neighbor fallen on hard times (Shi Ke) who isn't as bad off as she claims; and even her own 12-year-old nephew (Guan Wenshuo), who fakes a broken leg to get after her savings.

Ye's misadventures leave her penniless, and she is somehow implicated in the grim fate of a local busybody (Lisa Lu), forcing Ye's daughter (Vicky Zhao Wei) to come to a reluctant rescue. Yi Ma De Hou Xian Dai Sheng Huo (aka The Postmodern Life of My Aunt) received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.