Andrew Lau Movies

This Cantonese-language romantic serio-comedy features multihyphenate Andy Lau as playboy Sam Ching. Many regard Sam as one of the most eligible and desirable bachelors in Hong Kong, given his carefree attitude toward life's obstacles, remarkable intelligence, and vast fortune. Unfortunately, despite Sam's professional success, he suffers from a long and rocky history in his personal life that includes a lengthy series of dysfunctional relationships and three prior divorces. Life improves dramatically when a sassy young woman named Milan (Shu Qi) waltzes into his world and takes over emotionally; Sam falls in love at first glance when he spots her at a Macau casino. Unfortunately, her twin careers -- she works as a cabaret dancer and poker dealer -- mesh poorly with Sam's social status, especially given his high-profile image. The couple soon make headlines in all of the major newspapers, and their perceived incongruity leads Milan to undergo preparations as a society woman, Hong Kong's number one "It Girl." A complication arises when Sam grows concerned that Milan might actually be after his money; he asks the girl to sign a prenuptial agreement; she grows indignant and instantly leaves him. When he recognizes her sincerity and the depth of his love for her once and for all, he'll do anything to win her back. But it just may be too late. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A man trying to run away from a personal tragedy finds out the hard way how much one of his best friends has changed in this action drama. In 2003, Lau Ching-hei (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Bong (Takeshi Kaneshiro) are a pair of police detectives who are both partners and close pals. While Bong respects Lau's abilities as a detective, he's wary of his friend's uncertain temper, and he has enough problems of his own to deal with after the suicide of his long-time girlfriend. Three years later, Bong has left the force to become a private investigator and has developed a serious drinking problem, while Lau is one of the top detectives with the Hong Kong police and has married Susan (Xu Jinglei), a respected reporter. Susan and Lau approach Bong and ask him for help with a case -- Susan's father Chow (Yueh Hua) was murdered, and while the team investigating the crime has found two of the men responsible, a third culprit is still at large. Bong agrees to help, but what he and Susan don't know is that Lau is the missing man who helped kill Chow, and he's playing an elaborate game of cat and mouse with his fellow police officers as well as his best friend. Also featuring Shu Qi, Emme Wong and Chapman To, Seung Sing (aka Confession Of Pain) was directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak and written by Mak and Felix Chong, the same team responsible for the international hit Infernal Affairs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Infernal Affairs powerhouse Andy Lau and Alan Mak bring the most popular manga in Japan screaming to life in this in this live-action look at the high-speed sport of "drifting" that shot straight to the top of the Hong Kong box office. Eighteen-year-old Takumi (Jay Chou) is never late for a tofu delivery, and though he speeds the tofu to its destinations with the velocity of a landlocked stealth plane, his true aspiration in life is to follow in the footsteps of his formerly fast-driving father (Anthony Wong) -- an ex-adrenaline junkie who eventually gave up the race track for the restaurant business. In his five years delivering meals from his father's restaurant Takumi has learned the streets of his hometown like the back of his hand, and he can take every corner with the needle planted firmly on the right. The trick to Takumi's amazing driving skills is a technique known as "drifting," and in a world where high-risk racing has spilled out of the tracks and onto the streets, this daring driver is about to become a legend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The prequel to Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's smash hit Infernal Affairs opens in 1991, with Inspector Wong (Anthony Wong) explaining the frustrations of police work to gangster Sam (Eric Tsang). He also expresses his desire to see the seemingly reasonable Sam take over he reins of the local triad from the current boss. When that boss is murdered, with no apparent heir, it seems that Hong Kong is going to explode in an all-out gang war. But the boss' bespectacled, soft-spoken, and well-mannered son, Hau (Francis Ng), unexpectedly takes charge, calmly and cleverly defusing the situation. Meanwhile, Yan (Shawn Yu, reprising his role as the younger version of Tony Leung's character in the first Infernal Affairs) is thrown out of the police academy for breaking the rules, and it's discovered that he's Hau's half-brother. Wong recruits him to work undercover in Hau's organization. Ming (Edison Chen playing the younger Andy Lau) is a corrupt cop secretly working for Sam. His progress up the ranks of the police force is swift, but his relationship with Sam is threatened when he finds himself falling in love with Sam's girlfriend, Mary (Carina Lau). For his part, as the handover of Hong Kong to China approaches, Hau plots to become involved in "legitimate" politics, and to avenge himself against those he believes responsible for his father's death. Chapman To reprises his role as the goofy Keung. Infernal Affairs II was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2004 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Hong Kong horror filmmaker Andrew Lau directs the 3-D slasher film The Park (also known as Chow Lok Yuen). After a little girl is killed in a Ferris wheel accident, an amusement park is forced to close down. Years later, a boy named Alan goes to the amusement park looking for ghosts. His brother Yen (Bo Bo Chan) and his friends go looking for him at the park, where they encounter all kinds of supernatural frights and opportunities for 3-D camera tricks. The Park was shown at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival as part of the midnight screenings. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Following up on his two-fisted 2000 flick The Mission, Johnnie To, along with Wai Ka Fai, directs this high-octane shoot 'em up about a pair of hired killers vying for their reputation and for a beautiful girl. O (Takashi Sorimachi) is a reclusive, highly disciplined assassin who is considered the top killer of Hong Kong. Since the murder of his comely housekeeper, with whom he secretly has fallen in love, he has grown even more inward. For him, any connection to the outside is fraught with danger, usually leading to death. Tok (played by pop star and heartthrob Andy Lau) is the polar opposite of O -- brash and eager to be number one. Chin (Kelly Lin) is O's part-time housekeeper -- a replacement to her murdered predecessor -- and current obsession. When Tok seduces her -- in between knocking off gangsters in a Bill Clinton mask -- he forces O out of his seclusion and into a confrontation with his rival. Meanwhile, Interpol, lead by Inspector Lee (Simon Yam of Bullet in the Head fame), is hot on their trail. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

One of Asia's most popular screen stars, Maggie Cheung stars in this romance about two Chinese 30-somethings living in California. Ellen (Cheung) is a single mother who works as a cabby; Mike (Cantonese pop star Leon Lai) is a computer genius who owns a struggling dot com. The two exchange glances at a bar one day, and later, when Ellen spots Mike drunk in the street, she invites him to share her cab. Hormones duly explode in volcanic proportions, and the two embark on an on-again, off-again affair that may or may not survive their respective problems. As Ellen and Mike, Cheung and Lai appear together onscreen for the first time since they starred in Peter Chan's 1996 film Comrades, Almost a Love Story. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

A disagreement over who will become the leader of a powerful Hong Kong triad organization threatens to destabilize organized crime in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan in this entry into the long-running Young and Dangerous film series. As Taiwan's San Luen Gang prepares for the wedding between Chicken and Nanako, the daughter of the powerful Yamada Gang leader, his friends and partners in crime all start preparing for the big day. Not everyone is so pleased with Chicken's promotion, though, and when a disapproving member of the San Luen Gang attempts to set Chicken up, the rage between three dueling gangs threatens to erupt into full-blown war. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Hong Kong director Fruit Chan's second film in a projected trilogy about the city's 1997 transfer of political power from England to China (following 1997's Made In Hong Kong), Huinin Yinfa Dakbit Do/The Longest Summer is an epic drama about a handful of friends who confront the ongoing political upheaval by taking up a life of crime. Three months before Hong Kong is to be returned to China, Ga-yin (Tony Ho) finds himself without a career when the Hong Kong Military Service Corps is disbanded. Ga-Yin and his buddies soon join forces with Ga-Yin's brother Ga-suen (Sam Lee), a petty criminal who wants to make a name for himself with the Triads, and together they hatch an elaborate scheme to rob a bank. The film's original Cantonese title roughly translates as "Last Year's Fireworks Were Especially Big." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cinematographer Andrew Lau directed this Hong Kong martial arts fantasy from a Manfred Wong screenplay. Wong based his script on a Chau Ting screenplay adapted from the long-running manga by Ma Wing-shing. Martial arts ruler Lord Conqueror (Sonny Chiba) adopts two youngsters as disciples, and a decade later, the two -- Wind (Ekin Cheng) and Cloud (Aaron Kwok) -- are rivals for the affections of the Lord Conqueror's daughter Charity (Kristy Yang). When they duel, Charity is accidentally killed, and Cloud loses an arm. Muse (Shu Qi) takes care of Cloud, and her father gives Cloud his own arm for future fights. Wind seeks some magical stones, needed to help him in his duel with the Sword Saint (Anthony Wong). Filming began May 1997 in China's Sichuan province with CGI effects added by Hong Kong's post-production house Centro, co-producers of the film. This manga has been serialized since 1989, but only the first third has been adapted here. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This $80,000 Hong Kong street-punk drama focuses on young tough Chung-chau (Sam Lee) and his slow-witted sidekick Sylvester (Wenbers Li). Sylvester finds blood-covered letters near the body of a suicide victim, schoolgirl Susan (Amy Tam). Chung-chau feels possessed by her spirit and delivers the letters. Chung-chau falls for 16-year-old Ping (Neiky Yim), and when she vanishes, he goes over the edge, agreeing to carry out a killing for his boss, Wing. Winner of a special jury prize at the 1997 Locarno Film Festival, it was also shown at the 1997 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Andrew Lau Wai-keung spins this mobland thriller adapted from Niu Lo's cult comic book Cow Man. The film opens with members from the Hung Hing Society whacking another gangster from a rival group who is deep in debt. A comrade with the slain man, sociopathic crime boss Ugly Kwan (Francis Ng Chun-yu) vows revenge and sets his sites on Hung Hing members Chan Ho-nam (Dior Cheng Yee-kin) and Chicken Chiu (Jordan Chan Siu-chan). The two are spirited away to Macau only to be jumped by Kwan's henchmen. Chan's friend is killed while Chan is captured, drugged, and shot on tape having sex with Chicken's girlfriend. Crushed by his friend's perceived betrayal, Chicken leaves for Taiwan while Chan is punished by his gang. Meanwhile, Kwan plots to take over the Hung Hing Society. A surprise box-office smash, this film spawned sequel after sequel. Young and Dangerous 2 hit the theaters a mere two months after the original premiered. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide