cagenicholas44 this is the reality of life, this movie prove to us or to anyone who's been working for a long time to those people that she doesn't even relatives, and how long that she gave her entire life for them, many of people like her, the actress and actor of this movie are very compatible, from the old woman who raise her not own son and to the man who grow with full of discipline and cannot leave the woman who raise him for a long time,i've barely touch how Andy lau and Deannie Yip act so good in this movie, if you have not seen this movie, you should have! watch now (y)

Ruben Mooijman 'A simple life' is a film about human kindness. About caring for others. About harmonious human relationships. Does this sound cheesy? It's not meant that way. The film shows how caring for one another can make a difference, but it's never sentimental and there's no tear jerking at all. The story centres around A Tao, a housekeeper who cooks and cleans for film producer Roger, who is not married and travels a lot. When returning home from one of his travels from Hong Kong to mainland China, A Tao doesn't open the door. She has had a stroke and after her stay in the hospital, she moves to an old people's home. Roger visits her regularly and gradually they become closer. At the start of the movie they are employer and employee, at the end they are friends. Director Ann Hui shows this process with small, symbolic scenes. When A Tao serves Roger his food in one of the first scenes, only one word is spoken, when she asks him to move something on the table to make room for the dish she has prepared. The contrast with another key scene, later on in the movie, is huge. After A Tao has recovered from the stroke, Roger takes her to the first screening of his new film and introduces her to movie stars as his godmother. Afterwards, they walk away hand in hand, chattering affectionately about the film business. A Tao visibly enjoys this party, and the attention she receives from her 'godson'. This is just one of the examples of the wonderful acting by Deannie Yip, a famous actress in the Hong Kong film industry but unknown to the rest of the world. In this film, she seemingly effortlessly plays A Tao first as a humble servant, then as a physically handicapped patient and also as a coquettish lady. How wonderful it must have been for her to receive a 'best actress'-award at the Venice Film Festival for her part as A Tao. The film focuses on the relationship between Roger and A Tao, and the development of their mutual appreciation. Apart from that, not much really happens. There are some humorous little scenes that will make you smile, as well as some more emotional ones. This is a slow and low-profile film, to be appreciated by a typical art-house audience.

yschoy A Simple Life is a beautiful film that tugs at your heart strings not because of the story but because of the unveiling of the relationship between a family servant and her 'young master' that she has treated as her own son. It is a difficult subject to cover but the gist of the plot is that the servant, ah Tao, suffers from a stroke and goes through a massive lifestyle change from looking after others to become the one being looked after. Deanie Ip's acting is absolutely incredible in that you are not watching her go through the motions, you are actually with her throughout her journey and feel her pain and joy as the film goes on. You can sense the unrewarded joy she gets from looking after Roger to the worries that she goes through to being a burden to him and moving herself to an old people's home and giving up a life of being the carer to being cared for.Andy Lau's portrayal as Roger is very different from the other roles I have seen him in. It is played subtly and allows the character of ah Tao to really shine through and there is evidently brilliant chemistry between the two and in the film, Roger grows from being a pampered boy used to having ah Tao revolve around his life to a mature man that realises all that she has done for him.What makes this film so great is the realism in all the scenes and it was not a typical film where you think 'this does not happen in real life'. Also, the focus is not on her medical conditions and subsequent pain from her health but her story and how her life changes and the way she copes and adapts.Ann Hui captured ah Tao's story beautifully and I came out of the film feeling like I knew her and had shared her life with her from the day she had her stroke to the day that she passed. Many cameos from many HK stars but liked the way they were written into the film and that they had a part to play and not in the story for the sake of being famous.An absolute must-see.

himanshug1 A very pleasant film, with droll humour, takes us through a final journey of Al Tao. She has been a servant in a household in Hongkong, serving three generations. As she suffers from stroke, she asks her employer, who has been a successful film producer, to retire her to a nursing home. This film explores human relationships from many angels. Gives a warm and positive massages. In a different forum I would go through each character and analyse interactions. Beauty of this film is in the simple way narrated various interpersonal interactions. Deannie Yip has given award winning performance, and I understand that she has one many awards for the role of Al Tao. Some of subtitles are difficult to read because of white subtitles in white background.