Happy Times

Name: Happy Times
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: July 26, 2002
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 63
Cast: Benshan Zhao, Lifan Dong

2002

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Ratings

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4.2	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 26, 2002 | PG

Starring: Benshan Zhao, Lifan Dong

Summary: A bittersweet comedy about a poor, aging bachelor who hasn't had luck in love. When he thinks he meets the woman of his dreams, he leads her to believe he is wealthy and agrees to a wedding far beyond his means. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Director: Yimou Zhang

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

Michael Wilmington

Just as Zhao uses his comic gifts to create an affecting human, so Dong's performance as Wu is a triumph of honesty and tact. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Zhang is working in a popular sentimental mode here, but his connection to the material -- and to us -- is heartfelt and without a trace of condescension. As a filmmaker, he's the opposite of a con artist, and his new movie is a gentle marvel. Read full review

Mark Olsen

Anchored by two fine performances, this bittersweet comedy about second chances just might signal a new beginning for the director as well. Read full review

Ann Hornaday

A tender, tragic allegory in which grave human emotions play out against a small, simple backdrop. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Crude as its build-up may be, the movie pays off with unexpected delicacy.

Jonathan Foreman

Still worth watching for Dong Jie's performance -- and for the way it documents a culture in the throes of rapid change. Read full review

Michael Atkinson

Schmaltz served in a hand-painted cup, Happy Times culminates in a Chekhovian complement of two narrated letters that have a mutually corresponding force the rest of the film only hints at. By then, our hopes have fatally diminished. Read full review

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