But Always

But Always (Chinese: 一生一世) is a 2014 Chinese-Hong Kong romantic drama film directed by Snow Zou.[2]

But Always
Film poster
Directed bySnow Zou
Produced byZhang Yibai
Screenplay bySnow Zou
StarringNicholas Tse
Gao Yuanyuan
Production
company
Emperor Motion Pictures
Wanda Pictures
Dadi Century Film (Beijing) Co Ltd
Release date
  • 4 September 2014 (2014-09-04) (Hong Kong)
  • 5 September 2014 (2014-09-05) (China)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryChina
Hong Kong
LanguageMandarin
Box officeUS$36,590,000[1]

Plot

While most of “But Always” takes place in New York City, the Chinese drama's blend of sentimentality and romantic fatalism is very Asian. American viewers who aren’t Sino-cinema buffs might balk, but Snow Zou's directorial debut does have a few noteworthy attributes: attractive stars, sun-dappled cinematography and an audacious payoff.

Beijing tykes Anran and Yongyuan meet in 1982, when she transfers to his school. She's wealthier than her ragged classmates, who regard her with suspicion. The school bully assigns Yongyuan to follow Anran, a role he happily accepts for the next 20 years. One sign of his devotion is that he can always recognize her footsteps.

The kids bond, in part because both lost their mothers in the same earthquake. (His was a peasant; hers was a doctor.) But then Yongyuan's guardian dies and his uncle takes him away. He's not allowed to say goodbye to Anran, a pattern that recurs as one or the other repeatedly vanishes.

A decade later, Yongyuan returns to Beijing and encounters Anran, now a pre-med student. She's grown up to be played by Chinese beauty Gao Yuanyuan (“Caught in the Web”). He's now portrayed by Hong Kong action star Nicholas Tse (“The Bullet Vanishes”), who's just as pretty as she is.

The couple's reunion is idyllic, then awkward, then idyllic again. But Yongyuan gets involved in some shady business to raise money for Anran's post-graduate education. So when she's ready to leave for Columbia University, he's disappeared again.

In Manhattan, Anran acquires a new boyfriend, a petulant painter called Michael (Qin Hao). She also works two part-time jobs in addition to her studies. (The movie is not subtle in suggesting that Beijing is now a better place to dwell than New York.)

Yongyuan, who has gotten rich just so he can search for Anran, finds her through Michael's paintings of her. This leads to another sweet, luminously photographed reunion. But the couple will be torn apart twice more, and the final rupture will make or break the movie for many viewers. It's shamelessly contrived, but refreshingly outrageous.

Cast

Reception

By 28 September, it had earned ¥225.77 million at the Chinese box office.[3]

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See also

References
  1. "Weekly box office 22/09/2014 - 28/09/2014". english.entgroup.cn. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  2. Kevin Ma (1 August 2014). "China Lion takes But Always". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. 一生一世 （2014）. www.cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 29 September 2014.
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