A Simple Life

The Independent“Ann Hui's gentle drama...” The growing closeness between them is touchingly portrayed though its drifting final half-hour could have been usefully cut...

Guardian“Has an intriguingly anti-sentimental dimension...” A sad and sombre film that uses a plangent piano soundtrack to tug at the heartstrings, but tempers this with a downbeat reality...

Empire“Presented without slipping into treacly sentiment...” Director Hui shows a different side to Hong Kong cinema in a tender drama that's illuminated by the marvellous Ip...

Time Out film“An exquisite and wise moment of celluloid portraiture...” Lau’s astute performance is rather like the film as a whole – at first you think it’s underdone, but it’s actually cannily judged to favour genuine feeling over pushy sentimentality...

Little White Lies“An insightful glimpse into the realities of city life...” Hui has (re)confirmed that she is a masterful observer of the idiosyncrasies of city life, capable of forensic attention to seemingly mundane moments from which she is able to reveal something moving, tender and often overlooked...

The New York Times“Quietly affecting...” Ms. Hui, a rare successful female director in the Hong Kong film industry, drew her story from real events, and the movie retains a tonic flavor of the everyday: its drama unfolds simply, without explosive moments but not without emotion...

Total Film “Gentle, moving but spurning all hint of sentimentality...” A Simple Life is often funny and even joyful. And the loving, teasing interchanges between its stars (godmother and godson in real life) genuinely delight...