It’s My Time was a film I walked into because I had some time to kill, and I am so glad I did.
In It’s My Time, Zhao Yanhong (Michelle Yeoh), fed up with her life in the nursing home, decides to learn how to solve a magic cube with help from once rising cube genius, Wu Youwei (Liu Haoran). They discover Yanhong has a talent for magic cubes, and, with the help of her social media savvy best friend, the better she gets, the more famous she gets. Through this, a path to the World Cubing Championship opens up for her, and with it, opportunities to confront the realities of her relationships.
From director, Bai Xue, and based on a true story, It’s My Time is all the best parts of a sports film. It is inspirational, complete with a tear-jerking final act, and with an older woman competing in a game of the mind against younger people, it definitely makes you root for the underdog. Michelle Yeoh transforms into Zhao, portraying her stubbornness with a charm that endears you to her, and the characters around her provide a support that would make anyone envious.
Xue’s directing is fun, colourful (on brand for a rubik’s cube), and big. Xue leans into the intensity that comes with contact sports, making split second decisions and movements of cubes in hands feel massive. It’s My Time visually captures the high stakes the characters feel, immersing us in their world, and feeding us all the adrenaline.
It’s My Time reminds us that it’s not too late to chase new dreams, and that, as the saying goes, if we want to go far, we have to go together.
It’s My Time is playing at TIFF ’26. For more information, click here.
