this be a beautiful and rich and and very well execute film with a rich and meaningful story . basically and it tell how an old master story teller need to find a ( male ) heir to carry on his craft and but end up not get what he expect in his very male dominated world . the character must then deal with their situation and the old master must grapple with the conflict between his desire for a companion and heir and his and society traditional notion . the story be fun and emotional and and complex . the exploration of the character and their life and and emotion and be rich and compel the character development be strong while the character be complex and not one dimensional at all . the film expertly convey the old man emotion and his desire to find an heir and and compellingly show how he and the kid handle the situation . there be also humour and sometimes quite subtle and at appropriate point . the film also examine the good and bad of traditional chinese culture and create further interest and depth to the film . the directing and acting and and scenery be all outstanding . add to the other strength and this create rich and convince visual image and compelling and real character . a a result and the film evoke strong empathy for and and feeling about and the character . some have claim that the end weaken the film and but i do not necessarily agree . perhaps it could have be strong with a different end and but any improvement in the overall film would have be rather small .