The Dumpling Queen/水饺皇后

This is a passable mainstream biographical film. Having a real-life character as the subject means there are unlikely to be big plot holes, but the film suffers from the common issues of mainstream films - the creative team wants to cram too many elements into a short two-hour runtime: there is praise for female independence and empowerment, family relationships across three generations, the warmth and community of Hong Kong's neighborhood life, a love story, and even an attempt to capture the changes of the Hong Kong era. Trying to cover so many thematic threads means none of them are fully explored or executed well.

With so many clues, the dramatic high points become overly concentrated, and each emotional climax features the lead actress crying. This significantly constrains the actress's performance range and diminishes the audience's emotional engagement over time.

However, one positive takeaway is the chance to see many seasoned Hong Kong acting veterans on screen again.

这是一部勉强算合格的主旋律人物传记电影。有人物原型就代表着不会出现大漏洞，但本片有主旋律影片的通病，也就是主创团队想把太多的东西塞到短短的两小时里：有对女性自主独立的歌颂，有家庭祖孙三代的亲情，有香港市井生活和邻里相互关心的温情，有爱情戏份，甚至导演还想拍出所谓的香港大时代的变迁。什么都想讲，就导致什么都讲不好。

因为有太多的主线剧情，导致高潮戏份过于密集，而每一段高潮戏都有哭戏，这也就导致了女主角几乎从头哭到尾。这在相当大的程度上限制了演员的的发挥，也让观众受到的感染力越来越弱。

当然本片的收获之一就是在荧幕上能再次看到众多的香港老戏骨出演。

演职员印象：
导演：刘伟强
主演：马丽，惠英红，朱亚文，王祖蓝，薛凯琪，谢天华，潘斌龙，袁富华，张达明