It’s My Time, a new film from Chinese director Bai Xue, is a big-hearted “sports” movie set in the hyperkinetic world of speed cubing (the competitive solving of Rubik’s Cubes, AKA magic cubes — yes, it’s a thing). Inspired by a true story, it is anchored by global superstar Michelle Yeoh, who plays Zhao Yanhong, a 70-year-old former math teacher who ends up in an eldercare facility after losing her home to fraudsters, and later suffering a stroke. She teams up with twenty-something Wu Youwei (Liu Haoran), a down-on-his-luck cubing champion who helps her achieve champion-level proficiency in an age-reversed master-and-pupil dynamic. Aided by lifelong friend Shuzhen (Sa Rina), who has a knack for buzzworthy smartphone footage, Zhao becomes an online sensation and must navigate the perils of viral fame, her meteoric rise in the cubing world, and a strained relationship with her adult son.
Combining kaleidoscopic speed-cubing footage captured with action and 360° cameras to bridge the visual language of influencer culture, extreme sports, and gonzo reality-television competitions, It’s My Time puts a new spin on the classic sports-movie and its rise-and-fall-to-rise-again trajectory.
With twists and turns aplenty, laughs to spare, over-the-top action sequences, and emotionally resonant character conflict, Bai Xue’s dramedy draws us into a world where its working-class heroes are lured by the prospect of instant celebrity, fast cash, and a break from the monotony of their everyday lives.
Yeoh is charming as the indefatigable and unglamorous Zhao, and her likeable co-stars help ground this crowd-pleasing romp, which highlights the challenges of aging and the struggles of the disenfranchised, in this accessible, heartwarming film.
