General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Lost in Time (忘不了)

Lost in Time (忘不了; Cantonese: Mong bat liu) is a 2003 Hong Kong romantic drama directed by Derek Yee (Tung-Shing Yee), starring Cecilia Cheung as a young woman who, after her fiancé dies in a traffic accident, raises his son and takes over his job as a minibus driver.¹^•² It premiered in Hong Kong on 20 November 2003, runs 109 minutes, and was produced by China Star Entertainment, One Hundred Years of Film Company, Film Unlimited, and Sil-Metropole Organisation.¹^•³

Key fact	Detail
Original title	忘不了 (Mong bat liu; also romanized Wang bu liao)¹
Director / writer	Derek Yee Tung-Shing; screenplay by James Yuen Sai-Sang and Jessica Fong Ching³^•⁴
Release	20 November 2003 (Hong Kong); later in Thailand (17 February 2005) and Japan (4 February 2006)¹
Runtime / language	109 minutes; Cantonese and Mandarin¹
Lead cast	Cecilia Cheung (Siu Wai), Lau Ching-Wan (Dai Fai), Louis Koo (Ah Man), Daichi Harashima (Lok Lok), Paul Chun³
Hong Kong box office	HK$15,494,587⁵
Major awards	Best Actress (Cecilia Cheung) and Best Original Score (Peter Kam) at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards; 5 wins and 11 nominations overall⁴^•¹

Spoilers

Plot

Ah Man (Louis Koo) is a minibus driver who, on a rainy day while driving his bus home, is struck by a truck that loses control in the opposite lane; the bus, licensed DY1314, is destroyed and Ah Man is killed.² Dai Fai (Lau Ching-Wan), another minibus driver passing the scene, stops and tries to save him but arrives too late.¹ Ah Man's fiancée Siu Wai (Cecilia Cheung) learns the news while waiting for him at the station.²

Siu Wai decides to raise Lok Lok, Ah Man's five-year-old son from his previous marriage to Ah Shan, despite the opposition of her parents and sister, who had also disapproved of her marriage plans.¹^•⁶ Attached to the minibus, which was where she and Ah Man met and conducted much of their romance, she insists on having it repaired at any cost and becomes a minibus driver herself.⁴^•¹

The work proves harder than she expects. Her driving skills are limited, rival drivers squeeze her out of stops and passengers, police ticket her, and she falls behind on rent and installments, at times leaving Lok Lok home alone.¹^•⁶ Dai Fai, moved by having been at Ah Man's side in his last moments, teaches her how to compete for business on the road and helps care for Lok Lok, drawing gossip from those around them.¹^•⁶ Under financial pressure, Siu Wai tries to return Lok Lok to his birth mother, who has started a new family and refuses; on the verge of leaving him at an orphanage, she cannot go through with it, and Dai Fai promises to take responsibility for supporting the boy.¹

Dai Fai carries his own unresolved past: his gambling destroyed his marriage, and his wife took their young son to Australia. He fears that his devotion to Siu Wai and Lok Lok is really compensation for the wife and son he lost.¹ In the end, both decide to stop living in the shadow of the past, and they sell the minibus together; Siu Wai, Dai Fai, and Lok Lok walk forward hand in hand.¹

Production and cast

Derek Yee returned to directing with this film after a four-year absence following The Truth About Jane and Sam (1999).⁴^•⁷ The producer was Henry Fong Ping, and the screenplay is credited to James Yuen Sai-Sang with Jessica Fong Ching (and Clarence Lee on some listings).⁴ The supporting cast includes Paul Chun as Siu Wai's father, Paw Hee-Ching, Elena Kong, Edmond So, Chan Wai-Man, Lee San-San, and Jamie Luk.⁴

A detail noted by the film's trivia record: the minibus Siu Wai drives carries the plate DY1314, and in Cantonese the number 1314 symbolizes "together forever".³

Reception and awards

Critics received the film as a restrained character drama rather than a melodrama. LoveHKFilm called it "probably the best romantic drama out of Hong Kong since who knows when," praising its affecting detail and storytelling restraint while noting that some plot threads are tied up a little too neatly.⁴ AsianMovieWeb described it as proof that Hong Kong cinema could still produce profound dramas, crediting the natural performances of Cheung and Lau and the film's refusal to force events.⁶ Far East Films rated it 4.0, highlighting Cheung's understated performance and Lau's support.⁸ On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 85% Tomatometer from one review, with 500+ audience ratings.⁹ IMDb users give it 7.3/10 from about 1,200 votes.³

Awards. At the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards (2004), Cecilia Cheung won Best Actress and Peter Kam Pui-Tak won Best Original Score; the film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Lau Ching-Wan), Best Supporting Actress (Paw Hee-Ching), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Song for "Forget the Unforgettable" (忘了忘不了), performed by Cheung with music by Kam and lyrics by Lam Jik; Daichi Harashima's Best New Artist nomination was disqualified.⁴^•⁷ The 10th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards named it a Recommended Film, and Cheung won Best Actress at the 9th Golden Bauhinia Awards.⁴ The Chinese-language database 1905.com records 5 wins and 11 nominations in total, including Maggie Shiu winning Best Supporting Actress at the 2004 Golden Bauhinia Awards and Cheung winning Best Actress and the Hong Kong–Taiwan Most Popular Actress Gold Award at the 4th Chinese Film Media Awards.¹

Legacy

The film is frequently cited as a turning point in Cecilia Cheung's reputation as a dramatic actress, following her debut in King of Comedy, and as an example of Derek Yee's ability to bridge arthouse sensibility and mainstream expectations.⁴^•⁸ Reviewers have compared its tone to a Hong Kong Kramer vs. Kramer, in tone and quality rather than plot.⁹

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2000s › Romantic drama films 2000s

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

Notice something wrong?