Hong Kong

Written and directed by the multi-talented King Hu, The Valiant Ones (1975) is set in the Ming-dynasty China, a time when Japanese pirates were wreaking havoc along the nation’s coast. Its heroes engage in epic battles and tragic sacrifices, fully illustrating the themes of loyalty and martyrdom. The film’s fierce action, choreographed by Sammo Hung, works synergistically with Hu’s camera angles and tight-knit editing. Also impressive are its settings in the hills, islands, and rough, turbulent sea of Hong Kong, accentuating Hu’s awe-inspiring wuxia aesthetic.Read More »

Synopsis
During the Ming Dynasty, Tsao Sui Yan(Donnie Yen), the power-hungry and ruthless eunuch leader of East Chamber, craves his own kingdom. He intends to destroy the rebelling clans by using a traitorous secretary’s children as bait. Two do-gooders by the name of Chow Wai-On(Tony Leung) and Yau Mo-Yin(Brigitte Lin) save the innocent children from the fiendish clutches of the East Chamber, only to find refuge at the Dragon Inn. Ultimately, the two warring factions – the rebels led by Chow Wai-on and Mo-yan Yau, and the East Chamber group led by Tsao – end up in the rundown Dragon Inn right in the middle of the desert. Jade King(Maggie Cheung), the beautiful owner and proprietor of Dragon Inn, hopes to cash in on the incident. But problems arise when Wai-on, desperate for the quickest route of escape, attempts to marry Jade in hopes of prying her for information about an escape route; and the two clans go head-to-head in a no-holds barred finale battle.Read More »

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Penned by renowned screenwriter Joyce Chan, The Secret (1979) is the first feature film of director Ann Hui. Based on a homicide case in the 1970s, it utilizes a non-linear narrative structure to unpeel layer after layer of secrets and illusions. Its clever use of visual contrast not only underscores the clashes between traditional and modern cultures, but also mirrors the psychological tension of characters. The film explores the dark side of the human psyche and experiments with innovative styles, heralding the Hong Kong New Wave.Read More »

Plot:
A contraband dealer living in Kabukicho discovers that there is danger lurking behind every corner when his untrusting exterior is slowly eroded by love in director Lee Chi-ngai’s hard-boiled crime drama. An ex-gangster who now makes his living selling illegal goods and trusts no one, half Taiwanese/half Japanese outlaw Lau Kenichi (Takeshi Kaneshiro) exists in a land where no one seems to speak the same language and three rival factions struggle to be the most powerful in the city. When the go-to man for one of the top crime bosses is murdered and Kenichi is given three days to find the killer, the appearance of a mysterious femme fatale threatens to cost the resourceful underworld dealer more than just his livelihood.Read More »

Three men disabled by an evil warlord become friends and learn kung fu with the help of an old teacher and his mentally-scarred pupil.Read More »

A psychiatrist donates his time to help the mentally ill street people of Hong Kong. A reporter who hears about his activities accompanies him on his rounds.Read More »

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The story of a northern Chinese peasant wife in the 1920s whose personal life is played out against a background of sweeping political change.Read More »

Tony Au directed this Hong Kong-Japanese co-production lovingly adapted for the screen by Joyce Chan. Tony Leung stars as Ryuichi Okagawa, a Japanese writer who worked as a reporter in China and has been sick ever since his return home. While in China, Okagawa had met a devoutly religious girl named Jin-hua. Okagawa was born with a predisposition to agonizing recurrent migraines, but found happiness with Jin-hua and married her. Unfortunately, he already had a wife in Japan, and this revelation crushed Jin-hua.Read More »

In Ming Dynasty China, two pairs of siblings are destined for each other. But fate throws countless obstacles in the path of their happiness. One pair is high-born: the young Emperor and his sister Wushuang, both confined to the Imperial Palace and very much under the thumb of their mother, the Empress Dowager. The other pair is decidedly lowborn: the wanderer Li Yilong (known as King Bully for the way he terrorized the town of Meilong in his youth) and his sister Phoenix, who still runs a restaurant in Meilong. When both the young Emperor and his sister Wushuang contrive to leave the Palace and head south, they meet the loves of their lives in Meilong.Read More »