Eve and the Fire Horse

Eve and the Fire Horse
Film poster
Directed byJulia Kwan
Written byJulia Kwan
Produced byYves J. Ma
Erik Paulsson
Shan Tam
StarringPhoebe Jojo Kut
Hollie Lo
Vivian Wu
Lester Chit-Man Chan
CinematographyNicolas Bolduc
Edited byMichael Brockington
Music byMychael Danna
Rob Simonsen
Distributed byMongrel Media
Release dates
  • September 9, 2005 (2005-09-09) (Toronto)
  • January 27, 2006 (2006-01-27) (Canada)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
Cantonese
Budget$1.5 million

Eve and the Fire Horse is a 2005 Canadian film written and directed by Julia Kwan. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Claude Jutra Award for the best feature film by a first-time film director in Canada.

Plot

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Eve, a precocious nine-year-old with an overactive imagination, was born in the Year of the Fire Horse, notorious among Chinese families for producing the most troublesome children. Dinners around Eve's family table are a raucous affair, where old world propriety and new world audacity mix in even measure. But as summer approaches, it seems like Eve's carefree childhood days are behind her.

When her mother chops down their apple tree — a superstitious omen — bad luck worms its way into their family in unexpected, tragic ways. Forced to grow up too fast, Eve learns to take pleasure in life's small gifts — like a goldfish she believes to be the reincarnated spirit of her beloved grandmother.

Meanwhile, Eve's older sister Karena is going through changes of her own, exploring a newfound fascination with Christianity. Soon, crucifixes pop up next to the Buddha in the family's house, and Eve must contend with a Sunday school class where her wild imagination is distinctly out of place.

Caught between her sister's quest for premature sainthood and her own sense of right and wrong, Eve faces the challenges of childhood with fanciful humor and wide-eyed wonder. Along the way, she proves that sometimes the most troublesome children are the ones that touch our hearts most deeply.

Cast

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