Quote:
Fai (Chen) is a mainland Chinese immigrant who has obtained Hong Kong citizenship. Due to the intricacies of Hong Kong law, however, his pregnant wife, Tingting (Tian Yuan), has no right of abode; she cannot live with him and is ineligible for healthcare. She and their young daughter, Haihai, shuttle secretly between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. As Tingting’s delivery draws near, she and Fai find themselves between a rock and a hard place, threatened by a hefty penalty for forfeiting the one-child policy in their homeland, yet unable to afford hospital fees in Hong Kong.

Fai’s employer, Anna (Lau), is the bored, pampered wife of rich businessman Leo (Lawrence Cheng), who one day disappears without a trace. Beginning with suspended credits cards, frozen bank accounts, her daughter’s unpaid boarding-school tuition, and finally the sale of their tony apartment without her knowledge, Anna falls into a downward spiral (made frighteningly real by Lau) that serves as a suggestive allegory of the city’s surface glitter and shaky foundations.

Anna’s attempts to make ends meet are deliberately paralleled by Fai’s scramble to finance his wife’s delivery through an illegal birthing service in China. Anna sells stocks, spiritual charms and antiques, while Fai hawks spare parts from Leo’s Mercedes and has them secretly replaced with cheap Chinese knockoffs. A more experienced helmer might have jazzed up the narrative with a bit of black humor or developed more meaningful exchanges between the two protags before building up to the moment when their fates finally intersect.

Although she’s been given little character depth or personal background to play, Lau exudes pathos and grace, whether in her insistence at keeping up appearances with her high-society friends, or in her pathetic superstitions. Gorgeously bejeweled and outfitted by Miriam Chan, with style advice from William Chang, she’s impossible to take your eyes off. As a result, her pain registers more acutely than that of Fai’s, even though his situation is more dire; Chinese heartthrob Chen never quite convinces as the meek working-class lad, and Tian likewise projects only moods, without a trace of personality.

Christopher Doyle’s luminous, fluid lensing offers visions of spacious rooms and empty highways rarely seen in crowded, bustling Hong Kong, reinforcing Anna and Tingting’s loneliness and isolation. Sparse dialogue and haunting music lend an alienating effect; other craft contributions are also excellent. The original Cantonese title translates as “Crossing the Border,” with the implied double meaning of “Crossing the Line.”

Bends.2013.576p.BDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

General
Container:	Matroska
Runtime:	1h 35mn
Size:	2.92 GiB
DXVA:	Compatible
Minimum settings:	Met
Video
Codec:	x264
Resolution:	1024x560
Aspect ratio:	1.85:1
Frame rate:	24.000 fps
Bit rate:	3 823 Kbps
Audio
Chinese 5.1ch AC-3 @ 448 Kbps

https://nitro.download/view/16E152A2A770BA6/Bends.2013.576p.BDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Language(s):Cantonese, English
Subtitles:English, Russian

The post Flora Lau – Bends (2013) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

IMDb wrote:
In this prequel to Mou gaan dou (2002), Chan Wing Yan has just become an undercover cop in the triads while Lau Kin Ming joins the police force. Both the triads and the police find an enemy in a rival crime boss.

Mou.Gaan.Dou.II.2003.720p.BluRay.DTS.x264-CtrlHD.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 59 min
Size: 	4.35 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1280x526 
Aspect ratio:  	2.40:1
Frame rate: 	24.000 fps
Bit rate: 	3 701 kb/s
BPP: 	0.229
Audio
#1:  	Chinese 5.1ch DTS ES XXCH @ 1 509 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/CC7239B2D093A50/Mou.Gaan.Dou.II.2003.720p.BluRay.DTS.x264-CtrlHD.mkv

Language(s):Cantonese
Subtitles:English

The post Wai-keung Lau & Siu Fai Mak – Mou gaan dou II AKA Infernal Affairs 2 (2003) first appeared on Cinema of the World.