Happy Times
2000 · 102 min · Director: Yimou Zhang, Zhang Yimou
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
Zhao is an aging bachelor who hasn't been lucky in love. Thinking he has finally met the woman of his dreams, Zhao leads her to believe he is wealthy and agrees to a wedding far beyond his means. Zhao's best friend Li hatches the idea to raise the money by refurbishing an abandoned bus, which they will rent out by the hour--the Happy Times Hotel--to young couples starved for privacy. Unfortunately, this plan goes awry because Zhao is too old fashioned to allow the couples to leave the bus door closed. Meanwhile, Zhao's fiancee introduces him to her spoiled son and beautiful blind stepdaughter Wu Ying, whom she sees as a burden. To be rid of the girl, she insists that Zhao take her to the Happy Times Hotel and give her a job. Zhao reluctantly agrees, then creates a series of deceptions to keep the girl occupied, including setting her up as a masseuse and enlisting his friends to pretend to be her customers. Everything that is happening between Zhao and Wu is superficially about trickery, but gradually a very real empathy grows between the young woman and the old man.
Emotional fingerprint
Happy Times (2000) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Empathy 30%, Humor 25%, Sadness 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Empathy, Humor, Sadness. Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Empathy, Humor and Sadness. Its IMDb rating of 7.3/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 71/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Empathy
- Sadness
- Humor
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Humor
Dominant emotion: Empathy
Dominant emotion: Sadness
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Empathy | Sadness | Humor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 3′ | Humor | 59 % | 14 % | 7 % | 62 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 8′ | Humor | 59 % | 14 % | 7 % | 61 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 13′ | Humor | 54 % | 22 % | 12 % | 53 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 18′ | Humor | 52 % | 38 % | 25 % | 38 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 23′ | Empathy | 56 % | 52 % | 39 % | 30 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 28′ | Empathy | 61 % | 59 % | 50 % | 28 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 33′ | Sadness | 68 % | 65 % | 59 % | 22 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 38′ | Sadness | 72 % | 71 % | 59 % | 18 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 43′ | Empathy | 69 % | 66 % | 41 % | 32 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 48′ | Humor | 64 % | 56 % | 22 % | 51 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 54′ | Empathy | 62 % | 53 % | 17 % | 56 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 59′ | Humor | 63 % | 57 % | 18 % | 54 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 64′ | Empathy | 68 % | 66 % | 29 % | 40 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 69′ | Empathy | 69 % | 69 % | 41 % | 22 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 74′ | Empathy | 68 % | 68 % | 38 % | 26 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 79′ | Empathy | 67 % | 66 % | 33 % | 38 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 84′ | Empathy | 66 % | 61 % | 43 % | 33 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 89′ | Sadness | 71 % | 64 % | 62 % | 19 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 94′ | Sadness | 83 % | 78 % | 76 % | 6 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 99′ | Sadness | 89 % | 86 % | 81 % | 0 % |
Oedipus
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about Happy Times. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Wu Ying
Wu Ying's Stepmother
Little Fu
Wu Ying's Stepbrother
Aunty Liu
Lao Zhang
Details
- Directed by
- Yimou Zhang, Zhang Yimou
- Written by
- Yan Mo, Gai Zi
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 2000
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Country
- China
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Empathy
- Data updated
Where to watch
Feels similar
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