Shek Sau Movies
A high tech corporation is sent into turmoil when hackers demanding ransom break into their internal computer system with a powerful and apparently unstoppable virus. A mysterious, beautiful young woman who calls herself "Computer Angel" quickly saves the business. But when she requests a meeting with the company's shady CEO, he gets more than he bargained for. Lynn (Shu Qi of The Transporter) turns out to be a highly skilled assassin, who knocks off the CEO with the help of her rambunctious younger sister Sue (Zhao Wei of Shaolin Soccer). Sue uses a powerful computer program developed by the girls' murdered father, which uses satellites to tap into closed-circuit security cameras, enabling her to see where all the cannon fodder/guards are and direct Lynn's escape, while taking over the security team's audio system to pipe in a cover of the Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You." But things soon get dicey for Lynn and Sue. A brilliant, sexy forensics expert, Hong (Karen Mok, who also sings the film's theme song), is hot on their trail, and the creeps who hired the girls decide to cover their tracks by killing them. Complicating matters further, Lynn reunites with an old flame and contemplates giving up the business and settling down, much to Sue's chagrin. So Close was filmed in Mandarin, necessitating (reportedly poor) dubbing into Cantonese for the Hong Kong release. The film was directed by Corey Yuen, who made his Hollywood debut with The Transporter. Before that, he was best known for his fight choreography on many of Jet Li's films. So Close was shown at the Subway Cinema's 2003 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
A woman defies convention to find happiness, only to discover the costs are greater than she imagined in this drama based on the novel by Pearl S. Buck. In 1938, with Communist rebels on the rise in China and Imperial Japan intent upon expanding its rule into Manchuria and China, Lord Wu (Shek Sau) is a feudal leader who rules both his community and his family with an iron fist. But his wife, Madame Wu (Luo Yan), has just turned 40 and has grown weary of her husband's dominance. With her son Fengmo (John Cho) now 18 and engaged to be married, Madame Wu sees her responsibilities to her family all but complete, so in violation of traditional custom, she arranges for Chiuming (Yi Ding), a peasant girl just turned 18, to be brought into the household as Lord Wu's concubine, freeing her from sexual servitude to her husband. However, Chiuming's lack of sexual experience proves problematic for herself as well as Lord Wu, whose erotic tastes run to the unconventional. Meanwhile, Madame Wu makes the acquaintance of Andre (Willem Dafoe), an American missionary and doctor who is helping Fengmo with his studies; Andre is kind, compassionate, and intelligent, and he makes a tremendous impression on Madame Wu, who soon finds herself falling for the mysterious American as circumstances cause both her household and China to explode into chaos. Pavilion of Women was the first co-production between an American studio, Universal Pictures, and Beijing Film Studio of China; the film was shot on location in China, but with a primarily English-speaking cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Willem Dafoe, Luo Yan, (more)
