The Faces of My Gene

The Faces of My Gene (Chinese: 祖宗十九代) is a 2018 Chinese fantasy adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Guo Degang and starring Yue Yunpeng and Lin Chi-ling.^[1] The film premiered in China on 16 February 2018. The film recounts the story of a writer and his ancestors after he crosses ancient times.^[2]

The Faces of My Gene
Chinese	祖宗十九代
Hanyu Pinyin	Zǔzōng Shíjiǔdaì
Directed by	Guo Degang
Written by	Guo Degang Wall Fish
Produced by	Hu Lifu Wang Hui Zhao Yifang
Starring	Yue Yunpeng Lin Chi-ling
Cinematography	Danny Chan
Edited by	Zhu Shuzan
Music by	Nathan Wong
Production companies	Beijing A Film Co., Ltd. Huace Pictures Beijing Deyunshe Culture Diffusion Co., Ltd.
Distributed by	Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd Huace Pictures (Tianjin) Co., Ltd Beijing A Film Co., Ltd.
Release date	16 February 2018 (2018-02-16) (China)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Box office	$26.80 million

Plot

Bei Xiaobei (Yue Yunpeng) is a self abased writer because he feels himself too fat. Because of his poor appearance, he often ran into a wall in real life. Later, he unwittingly finds a long dusty family tree. And accidentally crosses through the ages to meet with his ancestors.^[3]

Cast

• Yue Yunpeng as Bei Xiaobei, a writer
• Lin Chi-ling as Liya, Bei Xiaobei's love interest
• Wu Xiubo as Mei Qiantu
• Wu Jing as Mei Banfa, a Ming dynasty swordsman
• Wang Baoqiang as Erdangjia
• Dong Chengpeng as Xiao Zhuge
• Sandra Ng as Nüwa, Bei Xiaobei's mother
• Eddy Ou as Mei Xingfu, a professor during the Republic of China
• Du Chun as Mei Xiwang, a Qing dynasty scholar
• Zhang Guoli as Doctor Bei, Bei Xiaobei's father
• Ma Su as Lily, a singer
• Zhang Li as Zi An
• Yu Qian as Feng Jiuye
• Guo Qilin as Wang Baobao, Mei Banfa's junior fellow apprentice.
• Fan Bingbing as Bei Xiaobei's ancestor
• Guo Degang as Bei Xiaobei's ancestor
• Jing Boran as Lei, a writer
• Li Chen as Zhang Baishun, a Jin dynasty imperial physician
• Zheng Kai as Lei's broker
• Jia Nailiang as Wang Xiao'er, a martial artist
• Jam Hsiao as Gonggong
• Wu Yue as Kuafu
• Jiro Wang as Zhurong
• Huang Lei as the boss of the publishing house
• Sean Sun as the host
• Jia Ling as a woman
• Evonne Hsieh as Mei Qiantu's wife
• Meng Fei
• Xie Nan as the female reporter
• Wang Xiaoli as Shennong
• Chang Chen-kuang as Zi An's father
• Liu Bei as Tong Tiechui
• Sun Yue as the Emperor's uncle
• Hu Shanshan as Wang Gangtie, Mei Xingfu's fiancée

Soundtrack

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Song of Position in the Family Hierarchy (辈分歌)" (Propaganda song)	Wu Songjin/Zhao Yingjun	Feng Cong	Guo Degang/Yue Yunpeng/Guo Qilin/Zhang Yunlei
2.	"Is It Important To Be Beautiful (漂亮重要吗)" (Theme song)	Ren Yingjie/Li Ruoxi	Wang Zongxian/Xiachuan Heji	Yue Yunpeng/Guo Qilin

Production

The Faces of My Gene is the comedian-turned director Guo Degang's directorial debut.^[1]

A total of 33 celebrities joined the cast during filming, including Wu Xiubo, Wu Jing, Wang Baoqiang, Fan Bingbing, Sandra Ng, Zhang Guoli, and Ma Su.^[1][4]

Release

The film was released on February 16, 2018 in China.

The film received mainly negative reviews.^[5][6][7]

Box office

The Faces of My Gene collected more than 100 million yuan on its opening weekend.^[8]