Shu Qi Movies

Riley Ip directs his melodrama about a man haunted by his memories. Ailing from Alzheimer's disease, Roy (Eric Tsang) returns to Hong Kong after 30 years in Brazil to track down his former enemy, Nine Dragons. Claiming that he was previously a notorious gangster called Mountain Leopard, he enlists the help of young street tough Smokey (Nicholas Tse). Roy tells Smokey that back in the 1970s, he and his arch-nemesis were rivals for the attention of an enigmatic beauty (Shu Qi). When she seemed to favor Roy, Nine Dragons shot him and ditched him on a barge for Brazil. Yet as the hunt continues, Smokey learns that the truth is a bit different. Meanwhile, Smokey's young heart yearns for the very female cop (Kelly Chen) who once arrested him. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

A gay romantic mystery, Bishonen is roughly based on an incident that was the biggest scandal to hit the Hong Kong Police force. A cache of photographs was discovered in the home of a wealthy playboy, which all featured handsome young men in police uniforms, some of them half nude, others holding law enforcement paraphernalia such as clubs in suggestive poses. An investigation by the Police Department revealed that some of the men were indeed policemen, whereas others were hustlers and gigolos. The focus of Bishonen is not this scandal, but rather the highly unusual meeting of two different worlds, illustrated in the romantic entanglement involving a policeman, two male prostitutes and a gay pop singer. The film starts with a simple love story and a series of emotional knots, some of which are impossible to untangle. Tragedy is inevitable. Jet is the star of a group of male hustlers in the steaming city of Hong Kong. He is arrogant and sexy; everyone is in love with him but he loves no one, until one day he meets Sam, the best looking policeman around. After meeting Sam, Jet tries to change into someone he is not: innocent, sweet, clean and pure. This is his way of setting a trap to catch Sam, but he falls into a trap himself. In the process, he discovers that the righteous young cop has a darker side. Things go out of control when Sam's past and Jet's present become intermingled -- not unlike Hong Kong itself, a cauldron of traditional Chinese ethics and modern Western values. Happiness will be achieved only in the harmony of the discordant elements. All four leading actors are newcomers to the big screen; Steven Fung who plays Jet, has become one of the biggest teen idols in Asia. The film begins on a good premise; however, it slowly slides into comfortable melodrama with a predictable ending. Bishonen was screened in the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

A spin-off from Hong Kong's popular "Young and Dangerous" action series, this fast-paced tale of a lesbian's rise to the top of the Triad hierarchy features top-notch acting and plenty of martial arts excitement. Most of the characters from the series return, and many events taking place in this story occur simultaneously to those in the others; as a result those familiar with the "Young and Dangerous" series will delight at the many inside references to it. Told in flashback, this narrative centers on leather-jacket-wearing, pompadoured Sister Thirteen (Sandra Ng). Those around her believe that she was always a lesbian, but her past story reveals otherwise. As the teenaged daughter of a low-level mobster, she had a crush on Coke (Alex Fong) a handsome but taciturn boxer. When he did not return her affection, Sister Thirteen turned to women for love. She entered Hong Kong's organized crime network via a scruffy band of low-level gangsters in the Mongkok district. There she earned her nickname and was mentored by Scarface (Shu Qi), a female drug-addict with a horrifying history of abuse. Under Scarface's tutelage, Sister Thirteen toughens up, learns to fight, and becomes the leader of the gang. From there, she and her cohorts fight their way to the highest echelons of the Triad. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Following up on his acclaimed work Full Throttle, Derek Yee Tung-sing made the unusual move of not only collaborating with movie industry unknown Law Chi-leung, but also to make category III sex comedy. After a string of commercial flops, art house director Sing (Leslie Cheung) resorts to making a softcore film called Viva Erotica in order to pay the bills. His gangster producer, Chung (Law Kar-ying), insists that Sing cast his beautiful, though talentless, girlfriend Mango (Shu Qi) in the lead role. As Sing wrestles with his desire to make this film something more than a cheap porn flick, he also wrestles with his desire for Miss Mango. Meanwhile, Sing's girlfriend, May (Karen Mok), is having a fit over her boyfriend's new project and his sudden lack of passion at home. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi