Title: Finding Mr. Right in Beijing
English Title: beijingyushangxiyatu
Director: Xue Xiaolu
Screenwriter: Xue Xiaolu
Starring: Tang Wei, Wu Xiubo
Genre: Drama, Romance
Region: Mainland China
Country: China
Duration: 123 minutes
Release Year: 2013
Plot Summary:
The film "Finding Mr. Right in Beijing" tells the story of an unexpected romance in Seattle, USA, between a pregnant woman Wen Jiajia, played by Tang Wei, and a driver named Frank. The movie conveys the theme of finding the "right person" in love.
Behind the Scenes:
Although Tang Wei has played many different types of roles, this is the first time she debuted on the big screen in a wedding dress. Recalling the filming of this scene, Tang Wei said with a smile that she was very envious of Wen Jiajia, "I guess all pregnant women would love this wedding dress. Wearing it feels really wonderful. Actually, every woman would want this—a good man by her side and such a beautiful wedding dress. At that moment, I suddenly felt really jealous of Jiajia." She also predicted, "This wedding dress will become popular in the future!"
It's already difficult for someone with poor English to speak well, and even harder to have to pretend to speak poorly while actually speaking well. In theory, English lines should have been easy for Tang Wei, who had previously studied in the UK. However, during filming, what troubled her most was precisely her fluent "London accent." This is because Wen Jiajia, the character Tang Wei plays, has extremely poor English and can hardly communicate normally. At the beginning of the film, newly arrived in Seattle, Wen Jiajia is confused by customs officers' questions and can only get by with a few simple words, sometimes even resorting to gestures and singing instead of speaking. This bold and lively Beijing girl, speaking "Chinese-style English," made fluently English-speaking Tang Wei worried, "Because my (English) accent was completely wrong, not Wen Jiajia's accent. I was afraid I might say it wrong, or that my own accent would slip through as I spoke. At that moment, I almost cried." To make sure her pronunciation matched the character, Tang Wei insisted on recording each line and listening to it in order to correct her "too standard" speech, helping her better portray Wen Jiajia.
Wu Xiubo's character Frank adheres to the "soy milk and fried dough sticks" view of love in the film, which Tang Wei described as representing "the everyday basics of life."Wu Xiubo stated that although the two main characters seem mismatched, they have many similarities at their core. They have both experienced unsuccessful relationships and are both living away from home, which might be the foundation supporting their relationship. He himself longs for this kind of seemingly ordinary but actually long-lasting love.\ Ha Qing has changed her usual 'nation's daughter-in-law' screen image and is playing the hot-tempered expectant mother Zhou Yi with a silver short hairstyle. This 'white-haired witch' in Wen Jiajia's words immediately gives Wen Jiajia a shock with the line, 'Don't think that having a couple of lousy bucks makes you show off.' Ha Qing said that Zhou Yi, a company executive, is not a gentle character; her strong personality makes her fundamentally believe that she is not the same type of person as the roles played by Tang Wei and Mai Hongmei. However, this seemingly straightforward character also gives Ha Qing headaches, as in the film she has to scold Wen Jiajia in English for being 'ill-mannered.'\ Compared to Zhou Yi, the character Chen Yue played by Mai Hongmei is a 'down-to-earth' character. Her sense of pride when returning from bargain shopping reveals that she is a thrifty, practical little woman; Mai Hongmei uses 'stingy' to describe this character. Yet this calculating expectant mother actually has a warm heart and often has to act as a mediator between Wen Jiajia and Zhou Yi.\ Click to download
