Long Life, Happiness Prosperity (2002)

In Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity, twelve-year old Mindy Ho (Valerie Tian) tries Taoist magic to fix her single mother's (Sandra Oh) financial situation and seemingly hopeless romantic prospects. Mindy's misdirected charms appear to cause an aging security guard to lose his job and a local butcher to win the lottery. The guard, the butcher and her mother's stories all intersect, bound together by Mindy's attempts at magic intervention. Set in the Chinese Canadian community, Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity is a story of hope and the importance of keeping faith in this sometimes difficult world. Product Description

What a lovely gem

I came across this lovely little dvd by chance and found it to be entertaining and different. It immediately submerses you into the small Chinese community in Vancouver being both dramatic and charming with quick bursts of humor. Mindy Lum is mesmerizing and you find yourself routing for her superstitious antics trying to win the lottery for her mother and finding her mother love. Sandra Oh is also a delight with a number of other wonderful actors. The ensemble cast acts out several storylines and keeps the audience entertained in a comforting family film way. September 6, 2008

I like Sandra Oh, but...

Did anyone else think this movie didn't make any sense? Why would an Asian woman with excellent English skills be working in a Chinatown restaurant kitchen? I get that not all Asians have to have college degrees and work as doctors or lawyers, but it doesn't make any sense that Sandra Oh's character would be doing a service job in Chinatown. It also didn't make any sense that the butcher wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. What Chinese immigrant goes to Canada or America so that his son or daughter becomes a butcher?

Could somebody please make a movie that reflects the real, contemporary Asian America/Canada? I'm so tired of watching movies that talk about "saving face." Yes, that's part of Chinese culture...but that theme has been done to death, and in more compelling films. December 8, 2007

A beautiful sweet movie!

I had never heard of this movie, but I happened upon it at the video store, and since I love Sandra Oh, I decided to try it. From the 1st to the last scene, I was captivated. The stories of the magical child, hardworking mother ( Sandra was the mother, and what a gifted beautiful actress she is. SHe says it all in her eyes..) with the child Mindy played by a superbly talented and extremely beautiful Valerie Tian. . The little girl Mindy believed in magic and charms, and her hopeful innocence and optimism are the core of this sweet amazing movie.
The stories seemed to be about family and hopes, dreams, luck, magic, optimism, and rebounds from heartbreaks.
My favorite characters besides the ones played by Sandra and Mindy, were: Chang Tseng as Shuck Wong, an actor with the most lovely face, gentle expressions that conveyed more than words ever could. An amazing actor! I loved him! And his gorgeous, strong wife who loved him so and was in her way, as optimistic as Mindy! SHe was played by Tsai Chin. I would like to look at the prior work done by these two amazing people.
All I can say is, if you want a heartwarming, sweet, and soulful movie, this would be the one. As another movie has said: Get Out Your Handkerchiefs. ( or Kleenex) November 29, 2007

Practicing Taoist Magic

LONG LIFE, HAPPINESS & PROSPERITY is a charming little film, another successful product of the Film Movement, which takes a small kernel of story and stretches it into the Butterfly Effect with fine comedic and sensitive writing from director Mina Shum and Dennis Foon. Films that give the flavor of life of communities outside the usual subject matter are always welcome, enlightening, and offer the audience to understand 'cultural differences' that are actually mirrors to the lifestyles of us all.

In a small Chinese community in Vancouver we meet Mindy Lum (a gifted young Valerie Tian) who at age twelve is concerned that her mother Kin Ho Lum (Sandra Oh), deserted by her husband, has narrowed her life to working in a dim sum cafe washing dishes, foregoing any possible social life, much less romantic interest. Mindy is convinced her mother should date fellow worker Alvin Ng (Russell Yuen) and while Alvin is attracted to Kin Ho, the latter can't be bothered. Mindy turns to Taoist magic, reading tacky dimestore manuals on tricks and love potions and spends her money on dragon mirrors and other paraphernalia in the attempt to attract Kin Ho and Alvin, to win the lottery, and to find the lost turtle of her little friend. She obtains a love potion from a 'sorceress', gathers circles made of the essential elements, and plies her mirrors and notebook instructions to gain her ends. But as fate would have it the magic becomes misdirected.

This altered tour of magic spells introduces other people in the community: the butcher Bing Lai (Ric Young) who has been separated form his own father for 20 years and tries to retrieve that relationship by preparing his only son Peter (Kameron Louangxay) to take over his business (Peter instead becomes a Buddhist monk); a security guard Shuck Wong (Chang Tseng) who is laid off from work and considers suicide when he can't even win the lottery; the quest for the lost turtle of Mindy's little friend. It is a series of 'best laid plans' (or aborted magic) that results in a series of changes and discoveries among these people and especially for Mindy's mother's future.

The dialog is divided between Cantonese and English (with subtitles) and the choice fits the flavor of the film. There are many fine supporting actors in this cast (especially Christina Ma), but the success of the story lies firmly in the hands of the superb Sandra Oh and the young Valerie Tian. Director Mina Shum has the insight and grace to keep this little tale light and tender, never allowing the plot to sink into bathos. Yes, there are flaws, but the end result is a touching low budget film that is honest and speaks to the heart. Grady Harp, September 07.
September 16, 2007

Delightful & Lighthearted

I saw this film as part of Magnolia Arts Center's film series. It's a delightful lighthearted tale about Asian immigrants. Sandra Oh who has won two Best Actress Genie Awards (Canada's Oscar) for "Double Happiness," also with director Mina Shum, & "Last Night" & had her breakthrough in "Sideways" and now is known for "Grey's Anatomy" TV series is edgy with wit and humor as the preoccupied single mother Kin Ho. Her daughter Mindy played by Valerie Tian who was also in "Wake of Death" with Jean Claude Van Damme does a wonderful job as the edgy young girl who experiments with Chinese magic, not always with the result she intends. Mindy's goal is to end her mother's unhappiness by having her marry Alvin played by Russell Yuen. In so doing, Mindy's magic causes a security guard to lose his job and almost commit suicide. Yuen has also appeared in films "Bulletproof Monk," "The Human Stain," & "Eye of the Beholder" with Ashley Judd & Ewan McGregor. Ric Young who was in "The Corrupter" and "The Transporter" does a good job as a butcher whose pride alienates his wife & son. Shot in Vancouver, "Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity" is an excellent evening filled with humor (chasing the duck) & the reality of families caring about each other while getting through the demands of paying the bills. Seek & you shall find! Enjoy! February 18, 2007

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