Be There or Be Square

1998 1h 43m ZH

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 33

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The story of two Chinese immigrants' struggles in America. Yuan Liu has lived in LA for years. He has no stable job, no family and lives in a wagon. He seems content with his life until the day he meets Qing Li, a woman with the big "American dream".

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ge You
Liu Yuan
Xu Fan
Li Qing
Bobby C. King
Masked robber
Feng Xiaogang
Cameo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Feng Xiaogang
Writers: Xiao Yang Gu, Feng Xiaogang
Languages: Mandarin, English
Countries: China

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "Feng Xiaogang's Trilogy of New Year's Comedies" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Feng Xiaogang, shot by Zhao Fei. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Zhou Ying shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ge You and Xu Fan and Bobby C. King carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0199354 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Feng Xiaogang directs. Zhao Fei behind the camera. Zhou Ying cuts. Produced in China. Dialogue in Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

128 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.
3Part of the "Feng Xiaogang's Trilogy of New Year's Comedies" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Feng Xiaogang, shot by Zhao Fei. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Zhou Ying shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ge You and Xu Fan and Bobby C. King carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0199354 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 33 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.