A Simple Life (桃姐) is an 2012 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau and Deanie Ip. The movie was based on true life events of the screenwriter, Roger Lee.
Deanie Ip plays Sister Tao or Ah Tao. Ah Tao has been a "maid" of the Leung family, based in Hong Kong, since she was 13. And 60 years later, she is still the family "maid". The Leung family have all but migrated away from Hong Kong. The lone leftover, Roger, has come back to Hong Kong after an 10 absence. The movie starts with the daily life of Roger as an film producer. After a trip back from Beijing, he sees that no one is on the window. Ah Tao usually waits at the window for Roger to come back. Ah Tao has just suffered an stoke and is moved to a elderly nursing home. We see her life from recovery to a relapse. Along the way, Roger becomes her god-son and takes care of her, a little like how Ah Tao took care of the Leung family members through the years. The story than follows Roger taking care of Ah Tao, Ah Tao's life in the nursing home, the Leung family in its current state.
The movie is well made and very simliar to The Way We Are. It is very much based on life in Hong Kong. It shows the "way it use to be" and the transformation of Hong Kong as well. When you follow this storyline, there's both a sense of tenderness and sadness. You see that relationships are based on reciprocity, action, and ultimately time spent together. Roger does not just throw Ah Tao into a nursing home for her to rotting away, like we see happening to the others around her. But Roger spends time with her and cares for her. As I see my aging family members, I hope I will be just as or more loving.
It is well deserving of all the awards its won. The Asian awards market is nothing like the Oscars, it really does judge the best of the best, because the market is so small in general.
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