Happy Times
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Release Date: August 9, 2002
On DVD/VOD: December 3, 2002
1h 46m | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Zhao (Benshan) is a poor, aging bachelor who hasn’t had luck in love. Thinking he has finally met the woman of his dreams, he pretends he’s wealthy and agrees to an expensive wedding. Zhao’s best friend comes up with an idea to raise money by refurbishing an old bus they will rent out by the hour –- the "Happy Times Hotel" -– to young couples starved for privacy.
Zhao is introduced to his fiancée’s blind stepdaughter Wu (Jie), whom the stepmother sees as a burden to her since she divorced her father. Sad and lonely, Wu is interested in only one thing: her father coming to take her away so she can have an operation to fix her eyes. The stepmother insists that Zhao give her a job at the "Happy Times Hotel." Zhao and Wu reluctantly agree to this arrangement, but when they arrive at the bus, it’s being towed away to a dump. When they return to her stepmother’s home, they find that she has sold Wu’s belongings and given her room to her spoiled son. She insists that Zhao find Wu a job, informing him that Wu is a good masseuse. As Zhao’s compassion increases for Wu, he once again enlists the help of his friends to build a makeshift "massage room" in an abandoned warehouse, "another one of his hotels." His friends pretend to be customers for Wu, as they tip her generously with Zhao’s money.
Zhao is introduced to his fiancée’s blind stepdaughter Wu (Jie), whom the stepmother sees as a burden to her since she divorced her father. Sad and lonely, Wu is interested in only one thing: her father coming to take her away so she can have an operation to fix her eyes. The stepmother insists that Zhao give her a job at the "Happy Times Hotel." Zhao and Wu reluctantly agree to this arrangement, but when they arrive at the bus, it’s being towed away to a dump. When they return to her stepmother’s home, they find that she has sold Wu’s belongings and given her room to her spoiled son. She insists that Zhao find Wu a job, informing him that Wu is a good masseuse. As Zhao’s compassion increases for Wu, he once again enlists the help of his friends to build a makeshift "massage room" in an abandoned warehouse, "another one of his hotels." His friends pretend to be customers for Wu, as they tip her generously with Zhao’s money.
| Director: | Zhang Yimou |
| Studio: | Mongrel Media |
| Producer(s): | Yu Zhao, Zhou Ping, Zhang Weiping, Yang Qinglong |
| Cast: | Zhao Benshan, Dong Jie, Dong Lihua, Fu Biao, Li Xuejian, Leng Qibin, Niu Ben |
| Writer(s): | Gui Zi |
| Official Site: | www.sonyclassics.com/happy/ |