Fei Han

Tragi-comedy about an insurance clerk's struggle for financial survival, and his eventual realisation that there are others in greater difficulty than himself. (bfi.org.uk)

A school principal with three children is unwilling to remarry after his wife dies, and his children grow conflict and loneliness appear.

The film is centred on the figure of Chen Sizhen (Jiang Tianliu) whose marriage to Tang Zhiyuan (Zhang Fa), an ambitious bank clerk and a typical Shanghai xiao shi min (petty urbanite), is dull. Their relationship is unromantic and she fails to bear him a son. Nonetheless she tries to be a good housewife. Their universe spins into turmoil when Tang starts an affair with a glamorous woman, Zhu Mimi (Shangguan Yunzhu), who cares for nothing but his money. A crisis ensues. (imdb)