The Joys and Sorrows of the Middle Age

109 minutes | 1949 | Fiction | Mandarin | English Subtitles
2K Restoration

Content Advisory: This film contains scenes of tobacco use.

CHEN Shaochang (SHI Hui), an elementary school principal who lost his wife early in life, raised his children alone. Minhua (ZHU Jiachen), the daughter of his close friend, re-enters his life and starts working at his school. However, Chen’s son (HAN Fei) and daughter-in-law (LI Huanqing) consider his profession beneath them. Forced into retirement, Chen finds himself melancholy, with only Minhua to offer solace. Despite their growing affection for each other, they must navigate the moral fabric of Republican-era Shanghai.

A native of Ningbo, Chinese director and screenwriter SANG Hu was born in Shanghai in 1916. Over his lifetime, he wrote and/or directed more than thirty films, including three showcased at MulanIFF2024: Evermore Sorrow (1947), Long Live the Missis (1947), and The Joys and Sorrows of the Middle Age (1949). He was also known for Liang Shangbo and Zhu Yingtai (1954), China’s first colour opera film; New Year Sacrifice (1956), China’s first colour narrative film, the 4K restored version of which was selected for the 2020 Cannes Classics; the ink-wash animation film The Deer’s Bell (1982), for which he was the screenwriter; Twins Come in Pairs (1979); and Romance in Philately (1984). He passed away in Shanghai in 2004 at the age of 88.