Although the requirements for actors are rather harsh, as a competent director, Johnnie To has thought of many ways to help the actors get into their roles. On the set, he often played music CDs to evoke emotions. In one scene, he didn't plan for Shu Qi to cry, but when she stood there listening to the music, her already unstable emotions got the better of her, and tears streamed down her face. Johnnie To also revealed that he cried many times on the set, but always behind the scenes, never letting the actors see, otherwise they would be overconfident.
In "Beautiful Life", Shu Qi plays a Hong Kong woman who works alone in Beijing and meets a Beijing police officer played by Liu Ye. The two develop a romantic love story with twists and turns that bring tears to the eyes. Under the direction of director Johnnie To, the usually cheerful Shu Qi had to shed tears every day. In "City Defense", Director Chen said I cried more than 300 times, but in "Beautiful Life", Director Johnnie made me cry more than 30,000 times! Those extra two zeros, you can feel it yourselves!
"Mei Mei Life"
Regarding Shu Qi's complaint, Johnnie To expressed some guilt: Long before shooting began, I told Shu Qi, this will be the hardest movie you've ever acted in. Because you have to put all your emotions out there, and you will definitely cry more than once a day.
On the closing ceremony, when Shu Qi said goodbye, Johnnie To understood that she was indeed in a depressed mood during this time. However, when he heard her say that this time, because of being too tired from filming, she cured her long-term insomnia, it was a small compensation.