Yamaha fish stall = Ya Ma Ha yu dang

The film depicts the impact of China’s economic reform on ordinary people in the early 1980s. Ah Long is a jobless young man who is recently set free from the jail. Wanting to start a new life, Ah Long sold all his valuables such as watch, TV and radio, and borrowed some money from friends in order to open a fish stall. He bought a Yamaha motor bike and asked his girlfriend Zhuzhu and another friend Haizai to join in. They name their small stall, Yamaha Fish Stall and are full of hope for their business. However, all Ah Long cares about is money and sometimes he even tricks his clients. This damages their reputation and the fish stall has to be closed. The three broke up and Zhuzhu’s mother wants her to marry a young man from Macau. Ah Long lost direction for life again and felt depressed. However, at this time, Ah Long’s competitor, Kui Mei gives Ah Long a helping hand by inviting him to join her fish stall. Kui Mei and her father’s trust makes Ah Long rethink about his past and helps him regain confidence. Ah Long found Haizai and his girlfriend Zhuzhu back and the three re-opened their fish stall and are all full of hope for life.

The story of the film takes place in China’s Guangdong province. Guangdong is the forerunner of China’s economic reform and remains as the country’s economic powerhouse today. Self-employment was a new concept in the early 1980s and there were heated debates on whether this belonged to socialist or capitalist economy.

This is a good film to gain insights into the early period of China’s economic reform. It gives the audience an idea of how the country’s planned economy is gradually shifting to a market-oriented economy. This is an interesting film for anyone who would like to make a comparison between China in the early 1980s and today’s China. (3 stars - Yuxing Zhou; May 21, 2010)