User Review
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“Mumu” Film Details
- Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 51 Minutes
- Date Seen: April 19, 2025
- Released On: In Theaters (Public Release Date: April 18, 2025)
- Director(s): Sha Mo
- Writer(s): Dandi Fu
- Genre(s): Drama, Non-English (Chinese)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Distributor: iQIYI
Summary
Xiao Ma is deaf and trying to raise his approximately 7 year old daughter, Mumu. It’s a bit of a challenge for him since holding a steady job that makes proper accommodations for him has been rough. Now, let it be clear, Xiao is good with his hands and can fix most things, such as central air units. However, with no agency backing him, often he relies on Mumu to talk and even negotiate for him.
Now, you may ask, “Where is Mumu’s mother?” Well, when she divorced Xiao Ma, she also separated herself from Mumu, for she felt ostracized by their relationship and how they would communicate in sign language. But now Xiaojing is back, wants Mumu to go to school more than help her father, and she is willing to fight for custody if she has to. Which, for someone like Xiao Ma, means paying for things he can’t afford and having to up his lifestyle. All of which, through the course of Mumu, leads to him sometimes making desperate choices from people more than willing to exploit him and his situation.
Cast and Characters
Xiao Ma (Lay Zhang)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Deaf for all his life, Xiao Ma’s history isn’t fully fleshed out, but we do learn he is generally an upstanding guy, good with his hands, not afraid to work, and his specialty is generally fixing things like home appliances.
Mumu (Zhang Ruo Nan [Adult] and Luoan Li [Child])
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring Zhang Ruo Nan: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring Luoan Li: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: In the past, Mumu is barely 8, hasn’t seen her mother in nearly 5 years, and is deeply in love with her father, who she assists, in lieu of going to school, so that he can make a living. But, in modern times, she is a sign language translator and advocate for the deaf community, especially when it comes to them getting involved in legal matters.
Xiao Jing (Huang Yao)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Xiaojing is Mumu’s mother, who does love her, but she had a huge challenge of trying to integrate herself into the deaf community and while she did love Xiao Ma, the feeling of being an outsider ruined their relationship and eventually tainted her relationship with Mumu as well. However, during the divorce a deal was put in place regarding Mumu’s schooling and Xiaojing believes it is time for the deal to be fulfilled.
Why Is “Mumu” Not Rated?
- Dialog:
- Cursing: Mild
- Discriminatory Language: Yes
- Innuendo: None
- Suicide Mentions: No
- Violence:
- Gun Violence: None
- Violence Against Animals: No
- Violence Against Children: No
- Domestic Violence: No
- Gore/ Blood: Light
- Body Horror: No
- Notable Violence: Self-Harm
- Sexual Content:
- Nudity: None
- Sexual Situations: None
- Sexual Violence: No
- Miscellaneous:
- Drinking: No
- Drug Use: None
- Vomiting: No
- Smoking: Yes
Links
- Check out our movies page for our latest movie reviews and recommendations.
- Official Site Link
Review and Commentary
Highlight(s)
It’ll Make You Cry Throughout [95/100]
I genuinely don’t know when I last cried this much while watching a movie, never mind to the point of snot. But when it comes to Mumu, it is the type of film that doesn’t just get you with sad moments, but the happy kind too. When Xiao Ma is forced to leave the community Mumu grew up in to better his case to keep custody? Tears. Watching the adult Mumu keep a woman accused of a crime from suffering like her dad did, and being an advocate so they don’t get exploited? Tears.
Heck, I even cried for the mom a bit since, as much as you could paint her as the catalyst for all of Xiao Ma and Mumu’s problems, she just wanted to be a mom. She didn’t know her seeking custody would create a snowball of tough moments for Xiao Ma to the point that this group of criminals would end up exploiting him.
Even as I write this, just recollecting what happened in the film, I’m getting teary-eyed.
The Struggles & Joys Of Being Deaf [84/100]
Between CODA and Switched at Birth, while there aren’t many quick-to-name examples of deaf families or communities, thankfully, they are out there, and Mumu deserves its own pedestal, for it shows both the beauty and struggles that come with being deaf. To start off, there is the community you are bound to find eventually that, as shown in the movie, can become your village, your family, and as shown by Mumu’s interaction with them, everyone looks out for each other no matter how big or small.
But, as beautiful as it is to see people help get jobs, housing, and more, unfortunately, there are certain pitfalls. As the older Mumu notes, you have to develop patience because of the frustration of being able to communicate with people who don’t know sign language. You may struggle, for the world may have some accommodations for you, like a translator, but sometimes that person is per diem or doesn’t exist, and having to make do can be incredibly hard.
A prime example of this is when Xiao Ma works a job which isn’t him fixing something but working at a hotel and him doing his thing cleaning, not knowing a woman is half dressed in the bathroom. It makes for an awkward, maybe comical moment to talk about, but Xiao Ma is still a man who entered a woman’s room and that creates a sense of her not feeling safe and a negative perception of him and the hotel.
Then throw in the legal system, people trying to exploit deaf people, and it can easily make you understand why Mumu grew up to be an advocate for her people. Though, to end on a positive note, I will say, despite what Xiaojing did, hearing her talk about falling in love with Xiao Ma, how she thought loved could see them through their communication issues and more? I feel like that was a real turning point for her character, and it reminded you that Mumu isn’t just a pawn to make a tearjerker of a movie, but the product of something that was beautiful.
On The Fence
Wanting Xiao Ma’s Story [78/100]
I get this is Mumu’s story, I mean, her name is the title of the film. However, I wanted to know about Xiao Ma from his upbringing, how and where he learned to fix things, what led him to stand up and pursue his ex-wife, and just his experience in general. This especially becomes true when you think of all he went through and find yourself wondering, “Where is his family through all this?” Mind you, not chosen family, they are there all throughout Mumu, I’m talking his blood relations, because Xiao Ma might be a grown man, but he looks young enough to still visit his parents at least once a week.
Overall
Our Rating (85/100): Positive (Worth Seeing) – Recommended
This felt like a palatte cleanse and a reminder that, if you are going to call yourself someone who is a fan of movies, film, cinema, whichever word you prefer, you have to actively seek out films that don’t get a huge marketing budget, may not be in the primary language you speak and have characters whose life greatly different from yours. It’s not only necessary for the industry so it can continue to grow, but it helps you from becoming jaded or one of those people who believe, unless you are force-fed something, there is nothing else out there.
