Director: Yan Han
A hospital corridor becomes the unlikely setting where two very different diagnoses turn into a single shared future in Viva La Vida, Yan Han's 2024 romantic drama from China.
What is Viva La Vida (Wo men yi qi yao tai yang) about?
Waiting on a kidney transplant list, a young woman decides the fastest way to survive is to marry a compatible donor. Her search leads her to a young man living with a serious brain condition, and what starts as a transactional arrangement slowly turns into something neither of them planned. As their conditions worsen in parallel, the film follows how two people facing mortality on a tight clock choose to spend the time they have left together, trading practicality for genuine affection. Told with warmth rather than melodrama, the story leans on small domestic moments — shared meals, hospital waiting rooms, quiet arguments — to show how intimacy can grow out of necessity.
Cast & crew
Peng Yuchang and Li Gengxi carry the central relationship, with Jerry Lee, Xu Fan, Gao Yalin, Wang Xun, Liu Dan, and Ireine Song rounding out the supporting cast under Yan Han's direction.
Context & significance
Released in 2024 and holding a 7.5 rating on IMDb, Viva La Vida sits within a wave of Chinese romantic dramas that use illness as a lens for examining commitment and everyday tenderness rather than as a source of shock. At 130 minutes, it gives its two leads room to develop a relationship that starts out purely practical before becoming something the characters — and the audience — actually care about. The pacing favors patience over urgency, letting small gestures accumulate meaning across the runtime instead of relying on a single dramatic turning point to carry the emotional weight of the story.
Where & how to watch
Viva La Vida is available to stream on K-Time with a free account login, presented with a Farsi-friendly interface and included Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles for viewers who prefer either option. No purchase or download is required to browse the title page itself; only playback requires signing in.