Cannot Live Without You

Cannot Live Without You
Cannot Live Without You
	Taiwan movie poster
Directed by	Leon Dai
Written by	Leon Dai; Akira Chen
Produced by	Akira Chen
Starring	Chao Yo Hsuan; Akira Chen; Lin Chih-Ju
Cinematography	Chang Hsiang-yu; Chou Yi-wen
Edited by	Leon Dai
Release dates	April 18, 2009 (CPHPIX Film Festival); August 14, 2009 (Taiwan);
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Taiwan
Languages	Hakka, Taiwanese, Mandarin

Cannot Live Without You (Chinese: 不能没有你) is a 2009 Taiwanese film directed by Leon Dai, a professional Taiwanese actor. It was his second film as a director. This film was also selected as the official entry for 82nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Dai also acted as the co-screenwriter and editor of the film.

Cannot Live Without You was filmed entirely in black and white in digital format, then transferred to film for distribution. The film has a somewhat unconventional structure, beginning at the halfway point. It is based on a true story.

Plot

The story concerns a poor Hakka dock worker Li Wu Hsiung fighting to reclaim the custody of his seven-year-old girl. Unsuccessful and clinging to the faithful daughter, he threatens to jump off a bridge.

As the film progresses, Li (played by the movie's co-screenwriter and first-time actor Akira Chen) gets embroiled in bureaucratic red tape and does all he can to get his daughter back from government institutional care.

Awards and nominations

46th Golden Horse Awards

Won: Best Film^[1]^[2]
Won: Best Director (Leon Dai)^[2]
Won: Best Original Screenplay (Leon Dai and Akira Chen)^[2]
Won: The Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year^[2]
Nominated: Best Actor (Akira Chen)
Nominated: Best New Performer (Akira Chen)
Nominated: Best Art Direction (HuaTa-Hua)
Nominated: Best Editing (Leon Dai)

Asia-Pacific Film Festival

Won: Best Director (Leon Dai)
Won: Best cinematography (Chang Hsiang-yi)

Macau International Movie Festival

Won: Best Film

40th International Film Festival of India

Won: Golden Peacock (Best Film)

Durban International Film Festival

Won: Best Feature Film

Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema

Won: Best Film

References

^ "Taiwanese tear-jerker wins Golden Horse award". BBC News. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Golden Horse Awards 2009 - Winners". Alt Film Guide.

External links

Cannot Live Without You at IMDb

[1] "Taiwanese tear-jerker wins Golden Horse award". BBC News. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2012.

[altfg-2] "Golden Horse Awards 2009 - Winners". Alt Film Guide.

[1]

[2]

v t e Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature
1962–1975	Sun, Moon and Star (1962) The Love Eterne (1963) not held (1964) Beautiful Duckling (1965) Hsi-shih, Beauty of Beauties (1966) Orchids and My Love (1967) The Road (1968) Spring in a Small Town (1969) Home Sweet Home (1970) The Story of Ti-Ying (1971) Execution in Autumn (1972) The Escape (1973) not held (1974) Land of the Undaunted (1975)
1976–2000	Victory (1976) Heroes of the Eastern Skies (1977) He Never Gives Up (1978) The Story of a Small Town (1979) Good Morning, Taipei (1980) If I Were for Real (1981) The Battle for the Republic of China (1982) Growing Up (1983) Old Mao's Second Spring (1984) Kuei-Mei, a Woman (1985) Terrorizers (1986) Straw Man (1987) Painted Faces (1988) Full Moon in New York (1989) Red Dust (1990) A Brighter Summer Day (1991) Hill of No Return (1992) The Wedding Banquet (1993) Vive L'Amour (1994) Summer Snow (1995) In the Heat of the Sun (1996) Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1997) Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998) Ordinary Heroes (1999) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
2001–present	Durian Durian (2001) The Best of Times (2002) Infernal Affairs (2003) Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004) Kung Fu Hustle (2005) After This Our Exile (2006) Lust, Caution (2007) The Warlords (2008) Cannot Live Without You (2009) When Love Comes (2010) Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011) Beijing Blues (2012) Ilo Ilo (2013) Blind Massage (2014) The Assassin (2015) The Summer Is Gone (2016) The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful (2017) An Elephant Sitting Still (2018) A Sun (2019) My Missing Valentine (2020) The Falls (2021) Coo-Coo 043 (2022) Stonewalling (2023) An Unfinished Film (2024)

v t e Taiwanese submission for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
1957–1980	Amina (1957) Lovers' Rock (1964) The Silent Wife (1966) Execution in Autumn (1972) Eight Hundred Heroes (1976) The Legend of the Six Dynasty (1980)
1981–2000	If I Were for Real (1981) The Battle for the Republic of China (1982) Growing Up (1983) Old Mao's Second Spring (1984) Kuei-Mei, a Woman (1985) The Heroic Pioneers (1986) Osmanthus Alley (1987) My Mother's Teahouse (1988) A City of Sadness (1989) Song of the Exile (1990) A Brighter Summer Day (1991) Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring (1992) The Wedding Banquet (1993) Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) Super Citizen Ko (1995) Tonight Nobody Goes Home (1996) Yours and Mine (1997) Flowers of Shanghai (1998) March of Happiness (1999) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
2001–2020	The Cabbie (2001) The Best of Times (2002) Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) 20 30 40 (2004) The Wayward Cloud (2005) Blue Cha Cha (2006) Island Etude (2007) Cape No. 7 (2008) Cannot Live Without You (2009) Monga (2010) Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011) Touch of the Light (2012) Soul (2013) Ice Poison (2014) The Assassin (2015) Hang in There, Kids! (2016) Small Talk (2017) The Great Buddha+ (2018) Dear Ex (2019) A Sun (2020)
2021–present	The Falls (2021) Goddamned Asura (2022) Marry My Dead Body (2023) Old Fox (2024)

v t e IFFI Best Feature Film Golden Peacock
1965–1987 - Golden Peacock	Gamperaliya (1965) The Damned (1969) Dreaming Youth (1974) Brother and Sister (1977) Hungarian Rhapsody (1987) The Unknown Soldier’s Patent Leather Shoes (1981) Aakrosh (1981) The Bostonians (1985) Farewell Green Summer (1987)
1996–2010 - Golden Peacock	Blush (1996) The King of Masks (1998) Karunam (2000) Letters to Elza (2002) At Five in the Afternoon (2003) The Beautiful City (2004) Iron Island (2005) The Old Barber (2006) The Wall (2007) Tulpan (2008) Cannot Live Without You (2009) Moner Manush (2010)
2011-present - Golden Peacock	Porfirio (2011) Anhe Ghore Da Daan (2012) Beatriz's War (2013) Leviathan (2014) Embrace of the Serpent (2015) Daughter (2016) BPM (Beats per Minute) (2017) Donbass (2018) Particles (2019) Into the Darkness (2020) Ring Wandering (2021) I Have Electric Dreams (2022) Endless Borders (2023) Toxic (2024)
1965-2014 - Silver Peacock	Nirjan Saikate (1965) Paper Airplanes (1998) Ek Hazarachi Note (2014)