Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity

Director and co-writer Mina Shum fashions a charming romantic comedy set in Vancouver’s Chinatown district. Rascally 12-year-old Mindy (Valerie Tian) tries to use Taoist magic to bring romance and fortune to her hardworking single mother (Sandra Oh). Complications ensue when the spells begin working—but not in the way that Mindy had planned. Russell Yuen, Ric Young, Chang Tseng., Director Mina Shum re-teams with the lead actress behind her breakthrough debut film Double Happiness in this magic-realist romantic comedy. Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity stars Sandra Oh as Kin Ho, a lonely single mom living in Vancouver with her impish 12-year-old daughter, Mindy (Valerie Tian). Mindy stumbles across a corner magic store while traipsing through Chinatown one day, and begins to believe that spells and potions are the perfect means for improving her mother’s life. Her purchases not achieving the desired results, Mindy resorts to more serious schemes, courtesy of a fortune teller. After a few botched efforts — which result in good fortune for a neighborhood butcher and terrible luck for a security guard — Mindy sets herself to the task of finding her mother a mate in the form of Alvin (Russell Yuen), a co-worker of Kin’s who has long admired her from afar. Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity premiered at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival.