Year: 2021
Runtime: 120 mins
Language: Chinese
Director: Tianyu Zhao
Ji Peizhen (Xu Fan) is the dedicated heart of her family, seemingly managing everything with effortless grace. Beneath the orderly facade of her home, however, lies a more complex reality. While she believes her daughter, Li Xiaomei, is exemplary, Xiaomei’s life in Beijing reveals a different side. Her husband, doctor Li Wengfan, struggles with a past mistake that prevents him from returning to his profession. Just as Ji Peizhen anticipates a peaceful retirement, she receives a devastating diagnosis: cancer, and only four months to live. The family must now grapple with how to navigate life in the face of such a profound loss.
Get a spoiler-free look at All About My Mother (2021) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.
In a bustling Chinese city, Ji Peizhen holds the quiet command of her household, orchestrating daily life with an ease that suggests nothing more than routine. Her home radiates a calm orderliness, the kind that masks the intricate web of relationships beneath its surface. The atmosphere is one of gentle domestic rhythm, where the simple acts of cooking, caring for the family, and maintaining the household become a silent testament to her steadfast devotion.
Her adult daughter, Li Xiaomei, lives far away in Beijing, carving out a life that feels both independent and distant from the familiar comforts of home. Meanwhile, Li Wengfan, the family’s physician husband, bears an unspoken weight from a past misstep that has quietly reshaped his professional ambitions. Their interactions hint at a delicate balance of respect, unfulfilled aspirations, and the unvoiced concerns that often linger in long‑term partnerships.
As Ji Peizhen contemplates a peaceful retirement—a moment she has long imagined as a gentle easing into a quieter chapter—a sudden, stark diagnosis arrives, delivering the news that she has a serious illness with only a short time ahead. The revelation shatters the illusion of endless routine, introducing a tone of introspective melancholy punctuated by the urgent need to reassess priorities and love.
The family now stands at the threshold of an uncertain future, forced to grapple with how to live meaningfully under the looming shadow of impending loss. The film’s mood is contemplative yet hopeful, exploring the resilience of familial bonds, the unspoken sacrifices that sustain them, and the quiet courage that emerges when life’s fragility becomes unmistakably present.
Last Updated: September 01, 2025 at 14:30
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