Piao liang ma ma (2000) User Reviews

The greatest actress in an average film

[Harpo 2046 · 6/10 · 1 July 2001]

This film is a good film but not a great film. This film is maybe too much melodramatic to me, and the soundtrack is really bad. But some details save this pretty film : Gong Li and the directing. Gong Li did as usual good work. And the director is quite good.

Moreover this film enables people to understand the social situation of China.

Gong Li breaks her silence by doing a great role.

[FilmCriticLalitRao · 7/10 · 13 August 2008]

In recent times many films have been made which have subtly portrayed harsh life of common people in China.Breaking the silence is one such film which is quite different from other films as it does not rely heavily on melodramatic elements to get its messages heard.By making "Breaking The Silence",Chinese director Sun Zhou has given Chinese actress Gong Li,one of her most deglamorized roles.At Montreal World Film Festival,she managed to win best actress award despite the fact that this film was not at all a star vehicle for her.She plays the role of a dedicated mother who is convinced that a day would come soon when her deaf son would be able to perform well at school like other children.The problems of handling a troubled child are depicted with compassionate care as Gong Li makes her supreme sacrifice by abandoning her job to be able to dedicate herself entirely for the well being of her beloved son.Who can benefit from this film ? This is a perfect film for all those women who choose to ignore or delay their motherhood in order to further a lucrative career.

Strong Story, Well Acted

[miw-3 · 8/10 · 20 January 2001]

I saw this movie on a poor-quality VCD but the quality of the movie still came through. Gong Li is usually more outstanding in the beauty department than in the acting department, but this time she played a great film in dowdy clothes and almost no makeup.

A powerful yet understated portrait of life in modern China.

[planet_mamoo · 26 April 2000]

Chinese screen goddess Gong Li plays a single mother in contemporary Beijing who struggles to educate and raise her deaf son. This film, which was very popular at the Berlin Film Festival, is a very moving portrayal of the struggle to get by in modern China. Gong Li, who reportedly didn't wear any makeup in this movie, is utterly convincing in her role, as is the charming lad who plays her son. Director Zhou Sun gives the film the stark feel of a documentary. There is little music, plenty of background noise, and everywhere are reminders -- mostly in ruins -- of China's ancient past. All in all, "Breaking the Silence" does an excellent job in exploring the fight -- often a hopeless, stubborn, bull-headed battle -- to ensure a better future for our children. It also reminds us that, in a China with almost no social services at all, most people are too busy trying to survive to worry about politics.

A bit too forced...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 12 February 2016]

Sure, I can appreciate a drama about a single mom's struggle to support, feed and take care of her partially deaf child. But when the movie turns out to be that she faces hardship at virtually every aspect of the movie, then it becomes a bit too much - too forced and too scripted in order to tap into the sympathy of the audience.

It was a shame that director Zhou Sun opted to go that way with this movie, because "Breaking the Silence" (aka "Piao liang ma ma") really had all the right ingredients to be a rather beautiful and outstanding movie. But it was just executed in a way too forced manner, and it was so blatantly obvious that the director wanted to press every issue to make the audience sympathize for the struggling mother.

The movie is not all bad though, mind you. Just look past the scripted nature of the movie, and there are some really nice aspects to the "Breaking the Silence". The story and the concept is very nice, and it is a moving story that will sink right into the heart. And the story is nicely paced and does take the audience along through a somewhat turbulent ride throughout the lives of Sun Liying and Zheng Da.

What makes "Breaking the Silence" stand out is the performances put on by the two lead talents, that being Li Gong (playing Sun Liying) and Xin Gao (playing Zheng Da). They really carried the movie so nicely, and they had a lot of weight to pull as everything was essentially riding on how well they performed. They both stepped up and proved their worth.

While "Breaking the Silence" is a beautiful movie, it is smothered by the overzealous attempts of director Zhou Sun. This was a shame, because it hindered the movie from achieving the greatness that it had potential for.

I am rating "Breaking the Silence" six out of ten stars. It is worth watching if you enjoy Chinese cinema.

A Gong Li Tour De Force, What Better Reason is there to watch a Film.

[desol-2 · 10/10 · 2 October 2001]

Gong Li for me has been in more great films then anyone else and this one is as good as any. Sure this type of film has been done loads of times before, but rarely if ever better. I also think this Gong Li performance is, along with 'the Story of Qiu Ju' and 'To Live', the best she's ever done and cerements her reputation as one of the Greatest Actors about. Well for me she is the Greatest if the Oscars actually looked at actors in foreign films then Gong Li's house would be full of them. I really do loves this film it's wonderfully directed and paced and also stays away from a Hollywood (lets rap everything up with a nice explained happy ending) ending. This film also benefits from having a child actor who is actually good and the rest of the cast is good as well especially Jing-Ming shi and Xiuqing Yue. My only problem with the film is that the character Da He (Xiuqing Yue) disappears half way into the film but that's only a little complaint because I think this film is brilliant. 10/10.

An inspiring tale of coping in China....

[asiavoices · 10/10 · 9 February 2007]

I read a lot these days about how many economists predict that China sooner or later will be the world's largest economy. Many, especially USA "neo-cons", like to praise China for having made this possible after "breaking the iron rice" in the 1990's. Hundreds of millions of peasants and urban poor were deprived of support for their daily needs, and somehow we are supposed to believe that this was necessary.

This film, however, shows the human cost for this. Gong Li, the gorgeous superstar in so many other films, is especially convincing here in her portrait of a single woman trying to take care of her deaf little boy and otherwise to cope in the harsh new China. Her husband had run off leaving her without any financial support, and she could not take legal action against him. Without any of the rights or support that are taken for granted in Western Europe, she has to fend for herself.

This film may sound too painful to watch. Yet, I promise you that at the end you will not feel depressed. The heroine is inspiring...not at all tragic...as she finds her way. She sets a good example to all of us, showing how to endure during hard times.

Another heartwarming film with a similar message is "Not One Less", also set in modern China. Be sure to see both!!

Some say it's great

[dyogenez · 2/10 · 30 December 2004]

Sun Liying, played by Li Gong, plays a single mother dealing with supporting her young son in a very lifelike and hopeless environment. Her deaf son, Zheng Da, is dealing with this and trying to learn enough to get into school. Liying must make enough to support her young son, and pay for his new hearing aid. These are not cheap, costing over $5000, with her making only $5, and her divorced husband not helping. This film did very well at the Berlin film festival. This is really a slice of life film, going through the basic actions of one struggling mom. This is not at all the type of film I personally like. I can understand how it is appreciated by critics, but it was a little too slow for my tastes. I have never been a fan of the extreme basic, or the struggles that are present in daily life, such as getting money from ones' ex-husband. It's all too bland for my taste. That's the main theme of the story though, that there is hope, even without excitement, love money. But for me, it's 2/10.

A Beautiful Movie

[miki2003_43 · 4 May 2005]

OK. So the title Piao Liang Ma Ma means 'Beautiful Mother'. The show is about a single mother from the village living with her hearing-impaired son in the city. She struggles with his condition. Disabled children in China aren't exactly given the best of the best.

After an attempted rape on her by one of her employers, she deems that all men are..you know. BAD.

One day, her son manages to pronounce a word that he has been taking so long to learn. Her hope rises.

Well, I'm not gonna tell you the rest. You just have to watch the movie.

---Rating: 8/10

Typical.

[peter-411 · 3/10 · 15 October 2000]

Fans of Chinese cinema will find nothing new with this film. Gong Li is OK but the story has been told by a million other Chinese films. There have been so many original films coming out of China over the last year with themes and stories that are very new. This is not one of them.