Waiting Alone


Waiting Alone is a 2004 Chinese romantic comedy film written and directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng, depicting the lives of a group of hip twenty-something Beijing residents. The film features Chinese movie stars Xia Yu, Gong Beibi, Li Bingbing, and Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat in his first mainland Chinese film appearance. Waiting Alone was nominated for three Chinese academy awards including Best Picture - the first time a nomination was awarded to a foreign director in this category.

Plot

Waiting Alone is a coming-of-age romantic comedy that follows Chen Wen, a young co-owner of a Beijing antique shop and an aspiring novelist. Told from his point of view, the story centers on his infatuation with Liu Rong, an up-and-coming actress whom he believes might be the perfect girl. Despite their growing closeness, Wen struggles to understand why she won't return his affections. With the help of his eccentric group of friends and his trusted confidante Li Jing, Wen navigates the challenges of modern relationships, romantic missteps, and self-discovery in a witty, grounded portrait of urban life and young adulthood in fast-changing China.

Cast

With this film, Eng made history as the first American to direct a Chinese feature film, and the first and only foreign director to date to have a film nominated for Best Picture at the Chinese academy awards.

Release

The film debuted at the 2004 Tokyo International Film Festival and was released in theaters in China in 2005.
Waiting Alone was acquired for international distribution in 2006 by Arclight Films, and subsequently became available on streamer platforms worldwide, including Amazon Prime.

Reception

Excellent reviews and strong word-of-mouth made this independent film a cult hit in China, where it was embraced by millennial audiences. The film also remains the highest-rated romantic comedy from China on Douban and other review sites, resonating deeply with an entire generation of Chinese audiences.
New Cinema Magazine called it "The funniest Chinese-language film of 2005!" Variety wrote: "Waiting Alone provides honest laughter and touching moments as it invades the modern romantic comedy turf of Woody Allen and Nora Ephron. … All thesps show good comic timing, and Xia is especially good as the lovelorn Chen and Gong Beibi also impresses as ....Will leave the cinema with a joyous bang."

Awards