Ma once told a reporter, "The inspiration originated from my personal experience.While I was studying at the Central Drama Institute, I rented a room from a lonely elderly woman. When I heard the news that she had passed away last year, I felt regret and I decided to direct a film to record the joys and sorrows that we experienced in those days
when we lived under one roof. I tried my best to depict the natural emotions of the common people."
To reflect the changing seasons, Ma and her crew shot footage in a Beijing siheyuan for one and a half years. During that period, many of the production staff changed. Ma said, "What you see is by no means trick photography created by a computer. With only
2 million (about US $250,000) in investment, we had to reproduce the images. However, with a sustained effort, we finally obtained the precious scenes of winter snow, summer rain and fallen leaves in autumn.”
The stars were new faces-the elderly actress, 80, despite her years of experience in the performing arts, never acted in a film; the young woman, in her twenties, was not a professional actress. However, given its natural, simple style, the film has won over audiences. The Tokyo Toho Theatre was full when the film was shown there.
