The Equation of Love and Death

The Equation of Love and Death (Chinese: 李米的猜想; pinyin: lǐ mǐ de cāi xiǎng; lit. 'Li Mi's Supposition') is a 2008 Chinese dramatic film written and directed by Cao Baoping and starring Zhou Xun. The film is a Chinese (Huayi Brothers) and Hong Kong (Sundream Motion Pictures) co-production.[2] It is Cao's second solo feature after 2006's Trouble Makers.

The Equation of Love and Death
Directed byCao Baoping
Written byCao Baoping
Produced byWang Zhonglei
Tsui Siu-Ming
Wang Zhongjun
StarringZhou Xun
Deng Chao
Zhang Hanyu
CinematographyYang Shu
Edited byMou Xiaojie
Music byDou Wei
Distributed byHuayi Brothers
Release date
  • September 18, 2008 (2008-09-18)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Budget$1,500,000
Box office$1,910,611[1]

The Equation of Love and Death premiered in China on September 18, 2008 in Shanghai[3] and had its North American premiere at the 2008 Vancouver International Film Festival where it was part of the Dragons and Tigers side competition.[4]

The Equation of Love and Death tells the story of Li Mi (played by Zhou Xun), a Kunming cab driver who longs for the day she can be reunited with her missing boyfriend. After a case of mistaken identity, a kidnapping, and a threat of extortion, Li Mi's dream may be on the cusp of becoming a reality.

Plot

Li Mi, a chain smoking taxi driver in the Chinese city of Kunming has been searching fruitlessly for her lost boyfriend for years. One day she picks up two strangers which turn out to be desperate criminals (Wang Baoqiang and Wang Yanhui) engaged in drug smuggling and importation of narcotics ingested in their stomachs. The two men kidnap Li and force her to drive to a designated location, however midway on a refuel stop at a petrol station, she signals to the attendant to call for help. After escapes, Yanhui dies due to the leakage of the package inside his stomach resulting in organ failure. The film ends with her finding out the fate of her boyfriend who left her a safe deposit box of money and a letter telling her to start a grocery store.[5]

Cast
  • Zhou Xun as Li Mi, the film's heroine, Li Mi is a chain-smoking cabbie. Her boyfriend disappeared years ago, but she still reads and memorizes the letters that he occasionally sends her.
  • Zhang Hanyu as Ye Qingcheng, a police detective who becomes involved in Li Mi's story.
  • Actor Deng Chao plays two roles in the film: as Fang Wen, Li Mi's long lost boyfriend, Ma Bing, a man who may be Fang Wen in disguise.
  • Wang Ning as Feifei, Yanhui's wife.
  • Wang Baoqiang as Qiu Shuitian, one of Li Mi's passengers, a bumbling drug smuggler.
  • Wang Yanhui as Qiu Huogui, another of Li Mi's passengers, another smuggler.

Reception

Early reviews by western critics suggested that Cao Baoping's sophomore film was a stylish thriller/drama, but that much depended on the power of Zhou Xun's performance as Li Mi. Shelly Kraicer, the Chinese film scholar and curator of the Vancouver International Film Festival's Dragons and Tigers competition noted that while director "Cao Baoping is an expert at orchestrating frenzy," the film ultimately belonged to Zhou Xun.[4] Despite the praise, the film would not go on to win the award (which went to Emily Tang's Perfect Life). Variety critic Derek Elley also wrote in his review that the film was "motored by another saturated [performance] by the throaty-voiced Zhou."[2]

Other critics saw the film as yet another example of China's growing sophistication with "genre films." The China Film Journal in its final verdict argued that while the film was not "life-changing," it was nevertheless a "step in the right direction" and that audiences would not mind "seeing a few more Memento-esque films" coming out of China in the near future.[6]

The film won the Altadis New Directors Award at the 2008 San Sebastian International Film Festival.[7]

Accolades
YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultNotes
200918th Shanghai Film Critics AwardsBest ActressZhou XunWon
Films of MeritTop Ten FilmsWon
3rd Asian Film AwardsBest ActressZhou XunWon
46th Golden Horse Film AwardsBest Supporting ActorZhang HanyuNominated
Best Original Film ScoreDou WeiNominated
9th Chinese Film Media AwardsBest ActressZhou XunWon
16th Beijing College Student Film FestivalBest ActressZhou XunWon
27th Golden Rooster Awards Best Director Cao Baoping Nominated
Best Actress Zhou Xun Won
Best Sound Gu Changning Nominated
Best Score Dou Wei Nominated
12th Golden Phoenix AwardSociety AwardZhou XunWon

References
  1. "The Equation of Love and Death". Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro.
  2. Elley, Derek (2008-10-14). "The Equation of Love and Death Review". Variety. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  3. CRIENGLISH.com (2008-09-22). ""The Equation of Love and Death" premieres in Shanghai". China Daily. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  4. Kraicer, Shelly (2008). "The Equation of Love and Death". Vancouver International Film Festival. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  5. Selzer, Manfred (2014). "The Equation of Love and Death". Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  6. Chen Peijin (2008-10-26). "Film Review: The Equation of Love and Death". China Film Journal. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  7. Hopewell, John & Holland, Jonathon (2008-09-27). "San Sebastian picks 'Pandora's Box'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
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