TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwanese film “Little Big Women” has taken in NT$120 million (US$4.2 million) as of Monday (Nov. 30).
Despite diminished theater attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the family drama made more than NT$100 million as of Nov. 27, the first Taiwanese film to do so this year. It broke NT$120 million on Nov. 30, according to Vie Vision Pictures.
When the film was officially released on Nov. 6, the filmmakers said that if it sold more than NT$60 million in tickets, they would personally prepare Tainan style fried shrimp for some lucky fans. On Monday, at a celebration hosted in Taipei’s Xinyi District, they made good on their pledge.
The stars of "Little Big Women" making fried shrimp for fans: Vivian Hsu (left), Chen Shu-fang (second from left), and director Hsu Cheng-jie (third from right). (Taiwan News, Lyla Liu photo)
Buffy Chen provides shrimp to a young fan. (Taiwan News, Lyla Liu photo)
Lead actress Chen Shu-fang (陳淑芳) and co-star Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄), along with the director and the producer of the film, rolled up their sleeves and put on aprons to serve the freshly fried shrimp on site. Fans withstood the cold and rain to take part in the meetup.
Chen Shu-fang, 81, won Best Leading Actress at the 2020 Golden Horse Awards for her performance as a mother of three daughters who must deal with the funeral of her late husband and his mistress.
Director Hsu Cheng-jie (許承傑) told Taiwan News that instead of focusing on the battle between wife and mistress, the film portrayed the characters of all kinds of women. The film is based on the director's grandparents, and he was surprised to hear so many fans had similar experiences.
"Similar stories happen quite a lot in other families, but they are not taken care of properly," Hsu lamented. "Instead of asking others to let go of something or someone, it would be better if we try to understand them."
