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The Equation of Love and Death
The Equation of Love and Death
	Promotional poster
Directed by	Cao Baoping
Written by	Cao Baoping
Produced by	Wang Zhonglei; Tsui Siu-Ming; Wang Zhongjun
Starring	Zhou Xun; Deng Chao; Zhang Hanyu; Wang Baoqiang
Cinematography	Yang Shu
Edited by	Mou Xiaojie
Music by	Dou Wei
Distributed by	Huayi Brothers
Release date	September 18, 2008;
Running time	96 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Budget	$1,500,000
Box office	$1,910,611

The Equation of Love and Death (Chinese: 李米的猜想; pinyin: lǐ mǐ de cāi xiǎng; lit. 'Li Mi's Supposition') is a 2008 Chinese drama film written and directed by Cao Baoping and starring Zhou Xun. It tells the story of Li Mi (played by Zhou Xun), a Kunming cab driver who longs for the day she can be reunited with her missing boyfriend. After a case of mistaken identity, a kidnapping, and a threat of extortion, Li Mi's dream may be on the cusp of becoming a reality.

The Equation of Love and Death is a Chinese (Huayi Brothers) and Hong Kong (Sundream Motion Pictures) co-production.^[2] It is Cao's second solo feature after 2006's Trouble Makers. The film premiered in China on September 18, 2008 in Shanghai^[3] and had its North American premiere at the 2008 Vancouver International Film Festival where it was part of the Dragons and Tigers side competition.^[4]

Plot

Li Mi, a chain smoking taxi driver in the Chinese city of Kunming has been searching fruitlessly for her lost boyfriend for years. One day she picks up two strangers which turn out to be desperate criminals (Wang Baoqiang and Wang Yanhui) engaged in drug smuggling and importation of narcotics ingested in their stomachs. The two men kidnap Li and force her to drive to a designated location, however midway on a refuel stop at a petrol station, she signals to the attendant to call for help. After escapes, Yanhui dies due to the leakage of the package inside his stomach resulting in organ failure. The film ends with her finding out the fate of her boyfriend who left her a safe deposit box of money and a letter telling her to start a grocery store.^[5]

Cast

Zhou Xun as Li Mi, the film's heroine, Li Mi is a chain-smoking cabbie. Her boyfriend disappeared years ago, but she still reads and memorizes the letters that he occasionally sends her.
Deng Chao as Fang Wen / Ma Bing, Li Mi's long lost boyfriend and a man who may be Fang Wen in disguise respectively.
Zhang Hanyu as Ye Qingcheng, a police detective who becomes involved in Li Mi's story.
Wang Baoqiang as Qiu Shuitian, one of Li Mi's passengers, a bumbling drug smuggler.
Wang Ning as Feifei, Yanhui's wife.
Wang Yanhui as Qiu Huogui, another of Li Mi's passengers, another smuggler.

Reception

Early reviews by western critics suggested that Cao Baoping's sophomore film was a stylish thriller/drama, but that much depended on the power of Zhou Xun's performance as Li Mi. Shelly Kraicer, the Chinese film scholar and curator of the Vancouver International Film Festival's Dragons and Tigers competition noted that while director "Cao Baoping is an expert at orchestrating frenzy," the film ultimately belonged to Zhou Xun.^[4] Despite the praise, the film would not go on to win the award (which went to Emily Tang's Perfect Life). Variety critic Derek Elley also wrote in his review that the film was "motored by another saturated [performance] by the throaty-voiced Zhou."^[2]

Other critics saw the film as yet another example of China's growing sophistication with "genre films." The China Film Journal in its final verdict argued that while the film was not "life-changing," it was nevertheless a "step in the right direction" and that audiences would not mind "seeing a few more Memento-esque films" coming out of China in the near future.^[6]

The film won the Altadis New Directors Award at the 2008 San Sebastian International Film Festival.^[7]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result
2009	18th Shanghai Film Critics Awards	Best Actress	Zhou Xun	Won
	18th Shanghai Film Critics Awards	Films of Merit	Top Ten Films	Won
	3rd Asian Film Awards	Best Actress	Zhou Xun	Won
	46th Golden Horse Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Zhang Hanyu	Nominated
	46th Golden Horse Film Awards	Best Original Film Score	Dou Wei	Nominated
	9th Chinese Film Media Awards	Best Actress	Zhou Xun	Won
	16th Beijing College Student Film Festival	Best Actress	Zhou Xun	Won
	27th Golden Rooster Awards	Best Director	Cao Baoping	Nominated
		Best Actress	Zhou Xun	Won
		Best Sound	Gu Changning	Nominated
		Best Score	Dou Wei	Nominated
	12th Golden Phoenix Award	Society Award	Zhou Xun	Won