The Barber Shop is an eighty-minute TV movie broadcast in the Life Story program on the Public Television Service (PTS) on 13th January 2013. It tells the story of a barber, Mr Lin and his sister. Lin left home years ago for unknown reasons. When he disappeared, his younger sister, Mei-mei, was left alone to run the family barber shop that their mother started. His sudden return naturally creates tension between brother and sister. Nevertheless, as Lin demonstrates his sincerity to compensate for the harm he caused back then, Mei-mei eventually accepts Lin again and comes to understand the reasons why Lin vanished into thin air at the time.

In this essay, an analysis of theme, genre and creative process is carried out. In terms of subject matter, two films, About Her Brother (2010) and Beginners (2010) serve as important reference. The discussion focuses on the universal nature of “family” and the portrayal of the characters’ emotions. Moreover, it goes further to explore the meaning of the reconciliation between family members.

When analysing the genre, The Wedding Banquet (1993) and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), two melodramas similar to The Barber Shop are cited for comparison. Every aspect of the creative process of The Barber Shop, including scriptwriting, acting, cinematography, lighting, production design, costume design, editing and music, is thoroughly analysed. In the last section, an examination of this production is done and suggestions for improvement are proposed.