--- title: "Hi, Mom" year: 2021 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/hi-mom" fi1m_id: "hi-mom" imdb_id: "tt13364790" tmdb_id: 758891 wikidata_id: "Q105221616" fi1m_score: 80 critics_reviews: 1 published: "2026-10-05T15:56:04.762829+00:00" updated: "2026-10-05T15:56:05.328146+00:00" region: "FR" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Hi, Mom (2021) Directed by Jia Ling · 2h 08m · Drama, Comedy, Fantasy ## Identity Hi, Mom - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/hi-mom - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** hi-mom - **IMDb ID:** tt13364790 - **TMDB ID:** 758891 - **Wikidata ID:** Q105221616 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13364790/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/758891, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105221616 **Fi1m score: 80** · Critics: 1 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* The jokes could use a trim; the mother and daughter can stay > Jia Ling’s family comedy is untidy and overlong, but the encounters between mother and daughter across time are moving enough to earn our patience. We recommend it with some tolerance for scenes that outstay their welcome. ## Synopsis Jia Xiaoling (Jia Ling) connects with her mother across time in a story that combines family comedy, drama and fantasy. Zhang Xiaofei plays Li Huanying, alongside Shen Teng as Shen Guanglin and Chen He as Leng Te. The mother–daughter relationship is the film’s central concern, explored through encounters that bring the two together across time. Around that connection, the story moves between comic complications and family drama. Jia Ling also directs and co-writes the film, which runs for 128 minutes. ## Review *Hi, Mom* is a moving family comedy with some untidy storytelling, and we recommend it with a warning about its length. Jia Ling directs, co-writes and plays Jia Xiaoling in a film whose strongest passages connect a daughter with her mother across time. That premise gives the comedy somewhere worthwhile to go. Getting there takes longer than it needs to, particularly when a scene keeps going after its comic possibilities have been exhausted. The fantasy allows the film to approach an ordinary family relationship from an unusual direction. Its appeal rests on the chance to spend time with a mother, and to consider what that time might mean to her daughter. Jia Ling keeps that connection central even when the surrounding plotting becomes cumbersome. The encounters themselves have an ease and tenderness that make us willing to tolerate a fair amount of untidiness elsewhere. We were moved more than we expected by the passages bringing daughter and mother together across time. Their graceful handling gives the relationship enough space to matter without requiring every complication around it to be equally convincing. Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei, credited as Jia Xiaoling and Li Huanying, give us a reason to remain interested through the slower stretches. The family scenes are where the film most reliably holds our attention. The writing is less consistent about how long everything should take. Jia Ling shares the screenplay credit with Sun Jibin, Wang Yu and Bu Yu, and some of the comic business feels insufficiently tightened before being fitted into the larger story. Ye Xiang’s editing leaves stretches that could lose material without losing much pleasure. At 128 minutes, the film gives us ample opportunity to notice when an enjoyable scene has become an extended one. Sun Ming and Michael Liu are the cinematographers, with music credited to Michael Lai and Peng Fei. The most elegantly handled sequences are those connecting mother and daughter across time, where the film’s attention feels properly directed towards the relationship. Their success makes the unevenness elsewhere more noticeable, because we have seen how assured the film can be. The broader comic passages do not always justify being given comparable room, and the pace suffers when they linger. For a fantasy comedy built around family feeling, the difficult business is making a change towards sadness feel welcome. *Hi, Mom* manages that well enough to justify its sentiment, although the clunky plotting remains visible. We do not need this sort of film to be embarrassed by its desire to move us. We do need the comedy to remain worth sitting through, and there are passages here where a firmer decision about what to cut would have helped. Those wanting a tightly organised fantasy will have reasonable objections, and we share some of them. Yet the mother–daughter encounters offer a clear reason to stay with Jia Ling through the overlong stretches, rather than merely waiting for the film to finish its business. Choose it for that relationship, and allow a little patience for the jokes that have not quite noticed it is time to leave. *Fi1m score 80, published 5 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Hi, Mom worth watching?** *Hi, Mom* is worth watching for its moving mother–daughter relationship, and we score it 80 out of 100. We recommend it to anyone drawn to family comedy with a fantasy premise, provided they can tolerate clunky plotting and jokes that linger too long across its 128 minutes. **How long is Hi, Mom, and what is it rated?** *Hi, Mom* runs 2h 08m. It is a drama and comedy film. **Where can I watch Hi, Mom in France?** *Hi, Mom* is not on any streaming or rental service in France at the moment. It is available in 1 other country; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Hi, Mom compare to Petite Maman?** *Hi, Mom* is broader and more cluttered than [*Petite Maman*](https://film.one/film/petite-maman), which we recommend as the tighter, more assured film about a daughter encountering her mother through fantasy. Both find feeling in that connection, but *Hi, Mom* suits those who enjoy expansive family comedy; *Petite Maman* offers a plainer, more concentrated experience. **What should I watch after Hi, Mom?** After *Hi, Mom*, try [*Petite maman*](https://film.one/film/petite-maman) (2021, Fi1m 88): Another daughter encounters her mother through fantasy, with considerably less fuss. Then [*Back to the Future*](https://film.one/film/back-to-the-future) (1985, Fi1m 92): Meeting your parents before parenthood makes for brisker comedy here; and [*Good Bye, Lenin!*](https://film.one/film/good-bye-lenin) (2003, Fi1m 78): A child’s elaborate efforts to protect a mother invite laughter and unease. ### Reviews we read (1) - **Variety**, Richard Kuipers (90/100, inferred): Kuipers finds the film an appealing comedy that becomes a deeply moving tearjerker, despite some clunky plotting and overlong scenes. He especially praises the elegant, emotionally powerful sequences in which Ling and her mother connect across time. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/hi-mom-review-ni-hao-li-huan-ying-1234943023/) ## Details - **Director:** Jia Ling - **Director:** Jia Ling - **Writer:** Sun Jibin, Bu Yu, Wang Yu, Jia Ling - **Cinematography:** Sun Ming, Michael Liu - **Editor:** Ye Xiang - **Music:** Peng Fei, Michael Lai - **Producer:** Zhao Nan, Yin Sixie, Wan Ying - **Cast:** Jia Ling as Jia Xiaoling; Zhang Xiaofei as Li Huanying; Shen Teng as Shen Guanglin; Chen He as Leng Te; He Huan as Zhang Jiang; Liu Jia as Li Huan Ying; Ding Jiali as Bao Yumei; Qiao Shan as Jia Wentian - **Runtime:** 2h 08m - **First release (CN):** 12 February 2021 - **Genres:** Drama, Comedy, Fantasy - **Budget:** $59 million - **Box office:** $822 million ## Where to watch in France Not streaming, renting or buying in France at the last check. Also available in: JP. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Petite maman* (2021), Fi1m 88: Another daughter encounters her mother through fantasy, with considerably less fuss. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/petite-maman.md) - *Back to the Future* (1985), Fi1m 92: Meeting your parents before parenthood makes for brisker comedy here. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/back-to-the-future.md) - *Good Bye, Lenin!* (2003), Fi1m 78: A child’s elaborate efforts to protect a mother invite laughter and unease. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/good-bye-lenin.md) - *Tokyo Story* (1953), Fi1m 92: For the family feeling, with quieter observation and no fantasy. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story.md) - *About Time* (2013), Fi1m 66: Time travel gradually gives way to the business of appreciating family. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/about-time.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/hi-mom