Happy Times poster & wallpaper

Ben Niu, Benshan Zhao, Biao Fu

Zhao is an aging bachelor who hasn't been lucky in love. While good-hearted, Zhao has a tendency to fib--it's not that he's a compulsive liar, it's just that his dreams always seem to surpass his real...( read more  read more... )ity, and he tries to fill in the gap. Thinking he has finally met the woman of his dreams, Zhao leads her to believe he is wealthy and agrees to a wedding far beyond his means. Desperate for funds, he turns to his friends, who are weary of his fanciful schemes. Zhao's best friend Li hatches the idea to raise the money by refurbishing an abandoned bus which they will rent out by the hour--the "Happy Times Hotel"--to young couples starved for privacy. But this plan goes awry when Zhao is too old fashioned to allow the couples to leave the bus door closed. While dining with his intended spouse, Zhao is introduced to her spoiled son and her beautiful blind stepdaughter Wu Ying. The stepmother sees Wu as nothing but a burden after she and her father divorced. To be rid of the girl, the stepmother insists that Zhao take her to the "Happy Times Hotel" and give her a job. Zhao reluctantly agrees. When Wu is unable to return to her stepmother's apartment, Zhao creates a series of deceptions to keep the girl occupied, including setting her up as a masseuse in one of his "hotels" and enlists his friends to pretend to be her customers. While everything that is happening between Zhao and Wu is superficially about trickery, gradually a very real empathy grows between the young woman and the old man, as together they find an unexpected haven from the loneliness they both feel. Soon, Zhao and Wu take actions that demonstrate the strong bond that they have developed for each other.

Flixster Users

77% liked it

616 ratings

Critics

72% liked it

60 critics

PG, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Yimou Zhang

Release Date: July 26, 2002

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DVD Release Date: December 3, 2002

Stats: 177 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (177)

  • DrBenway
    January 5, 2009
    DrBenway
    Happy Times is set in present-day China, in a modern, unnamed city, exploring the many costs of modern times. The two central characters feel left behind in a rapidly changing Beijing, and when they try to catch up, they find love instead of the money they seek.

    The film never...( read more) does choose between comedy and tragedy, and the final plot twist turns it into a failed fairy tale. With too many contrived characters and plot turns, Happy Times eventually seems weightless.
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  • FangsFirst
    April 10, 2008
    FangsFirst
    Zhang Yimou is far better known for films like House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower (or Raise the Red Lantern, if you run in more artsy circles) than for films like this one, which was kind of a surprise to me. Despite the focal point of the...( read more) cover--which may or may not be the theatrical poster--this film is not really about the relationship of the two people who appear on it, being lonely bachelor Zhao (Zhao Benshan) and his fiancee, the nameless "Stepmother" (Dong Lifan).

    In truth, this film seems to be about Zhao and the "stepmother," but soon we meet the blind girl Wu Ying (Dong Jie), who is the blind stepdaughter that gives Dong Lifan's character her "title" of stepmother. She is neglected and just shy of abused (by which I mean only that she is not physically assaulted--she is treated much like Cinderella, which really constitutes abuse) by her stepmother, which Zhao does not realize in his desperation to marry. He has taken on his new girlfriend simply because she has agreed to marry him, complimenting her on her large size simply because he feels that anyone skinnier will reject him, based on his experience. Leng Qibin (also unnamed as a character) plays Wu's stepbrother, and is the image of the spoiled biological child, also taking up a large amount of space and first seen complaining that his video gaming system is currently on the fritz. Eventually Zhao begins to see the loneliness and despair in Wu, even though he never sees what her stepmother does, still trying consistently to appease her and guarantee his marriage. He lies endlessly to both of them about his job, claiming to be a hotel manager--instead he has taken on rentals of time in an abandoned bus in a park, named the "Happy Times Hut" with his friend, of a circle of retired former co-workers--and attempting to get a "job" for Wu.

    Eventually the plot shifts firmly to Zhao's misguided attempts to make and keep Wu happy and feeling loved, using deception to do this. Creatively, this is not shown or seen as a bad or negative thing; their deception is so purely motivated and well-intended that even Wu takes no issue with it when she finds out. She understands the meaning behind their actions and takes no insult from it. And this is absolutely one of the most touching things in the world--to see that even through the deceit and the previously selfish interests (and some continued ones, too) these two characters find love--not romantic love, but perhaps all the stronger for it. They both bring some meaning to each other's lives, renewing their interest in other people. It manages to have this warm, caring element without sacrificing any of the cynical realism that inhabits and creates the world as we know it. Expertly crafted in the tension of these two contrasting extremes, it only further enhances the darkness for some--who find the rather ambiguous ending heartbreaking, and the light for others, like myself, who see a kind of hope in it.

    A fantastic movie, but I've come to expect that from Zhang Yimou.
  • Sssabee
    April 21, 2006
    Sssabee
    This is a great movie on so many levels... firs of all, the acting, by the end of the movie you'll probably still wonder if the lead actress is or isn't really blind, secondly, amazing directing, by one of the most talented directors of our times, and last, but not least, the sto...( read more)ry... touching and beautiful, sometimes funny, but most of all, very human, about loneliness, love and tenderness. You might cry at the end of this movie, be warned!
  • FanGirl
    March 25, 2007
    FanGirl
    Charming and sweet. An interesting film with a unique story and fun characters.
  • danmei
    July 25, 2009
    danmei
    Very touching story, showing that deceit does not always come from bad intentions. Every character is so real, even including Zhao's "wen nuan" girlfriend and her son. There were moments that made me laugh, and moments that brought tears to my eyes, so I say this movie is definit...( read more)ely worth watching.
  • lesleyanorton
    June 26, 2009
    lesleyanorton
    Magical. Quirky and very different to Yimou Zhangs other films.
  • jha1235
    September 20, 2008
    jha1235
    Happy Times!!!......... not so much
  • jannar85
    January 27, 2008
    jannar85
    What a sad sad story...
  • MovieGuruDude72
    December 20, 2007
    MovieGuruDude72
    Even in China with 40 trillion people, nerds can't get laid.
  • elliott77
    August 12, 2007
    elliott77
    the conversations with the goup of older people are amazing

View All Happy Times Reviews

Critic Reviews

October 24, 2003
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

Jie Dong, who makes her film debut as the blind and unwanted Little Wu, is thin, tough and heartbreakingly lovely. full review

August 9, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

To me, it sounds like a cruel deception carried out by men of marginal intelligence, with reactionary ideas about women and a total lack of empathy. full review

July 25, 2002
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Wise, gentle and sad. full review

View more Happy Times reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Happy Times Trivia

  • Which of the following movies by Chinese director Zhang Yimou does not have actress Gong Li in a leading role?  Answer »
  • What is the disabiity of the girl in the Chinese movie "Happy Times"?  Answer »
  • "Air Force One"- I was the first in line to the presidency and almost got that position since Marshall nearly died. However, I was very happy that he made it out alive. I spoke with Korshunov many times over the phone. Who am I?   Answer »
  • "Air Force One"- I was the first in line to the presidency and almost got that position since Marshall nearly died. However, I was very happy that he made it out alive. I spoke with Korshunov many times over the phone. Who am I?   Answer »
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