Tou Chung Hua Movies
Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee adapts this Eileen Chang story set in World War II-era Shanghai that details the political intrigue surrounding a powerful political figure named Mr. Yee (Tony Leung) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Spanning the late '30s and early '40s, the movie introduces us to Hong Kong teen Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei), a shy college freshman who finds her calling in a drama society devoted to patriotic plays. But the troupe's leader, Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom), isn't just a theater maven -- he's a revolutionary as well, and he's devoted to carrying out a bold plan to assassinate top Japanese collaborator Mr. Yee. Each student has an important role to play, and Wong puts herself in a dangerous position as Mrs. Mak; she befriends Mr. Yee's wife (Joan Chen), and slowly gains trust before tempting him into an affair. While at first the plan goes exactly as scripted, things suddenly take a deadly turn and Wong is emigrated from Hong Kong. Later, in 1941, the occupation shows no signs of ceasing and Wong is simply drifting through her days in Shanghai. Much to her surprise, the former actress finds Kuang requesting that she resume the role of Mrs. Mak. Now, as Wong again gains intimate access to her dangerous prey, she must struggle with her own identity in order to pull off the performance of a lifetime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, (more)
A subtle study in the deterioration of relationships and the strains of a broken marriage, director Ann Hui's character driven drama draws on Chinese poetry to tell a tale of infidelity and pensive yearning. Tempted by the advances of an amorous student, Chinese Literature professor Lam (Jackie Cheung) considers an extramarital affair while still reeling in the pain of wife Man Ching's (Anita Mui) previous infidelity. As depression and boredom push the couple further apart, Professor Lam's moral devotion to his wife places him at odds with the pain he harbors from their tumultuous past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacky Cheung, Anita Mui, (more)
- 1996
Lee Kwok-lap directs this melodrama about handsome young architect Kam Ming-sang (Derek Yee Tung-sing) who gets accidentally shot in the head by his cop friend Lam Long (Tou Chung-wah). Kam barely survives, but soon lapses into a deep coma. Though most of his friends and family believe that he will never regain consciousness, his headstrong and very pregnant wife Lau Heung-ching (Carman Lee Yeuk-tung) refuses to believe that her love might be gone. Soon, the stress of child-rearing, poverty, and grief begin to take their toll on Heung-ching. Meanwhile, Lam Long remains stricken with grief over the incident. He quits the force and tries to help his friend's wife, though she outright refuses his charity. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derek Yee, Tou Chung Hua, (more)
Following his 1990 bid for a more serious sort of filmmaking with A Home Too Far, Taiwanese exploitation director Chu Yen-ping continued the war story which that film began with this stirring appeal to Nationalist sentiment. The Nationalists are preparing to disarm as the story begins, under heavy pressure from the Burmese military. The army raids their camp anyway, killing several of them and causing some others to defect and flee to the mountains for refuge. Most of these men end up fighting for other non-partisan causes, including those who raid military camps for ill-gotten profit. Those who stay behind to fight the Communists end up joining forces with the Thai military. One of the soldiers, Ke Bao-den (Tou Chung Hua), is particularly distraught to hear that the joint force will first do battle with the army of the bandit Lo Huei (Ray Lui), because some of the Nationalist defectors are part of his force, including Bao-den's friend Fan Long (played by popular actor Tony Leung). Fan Long had saved Bao-den's life in a Burmese prison camp, so the soldier decides to return the favor, undertaking a traitorous and potentially fatal mission to warn his friend about the planned attack. Ng Man-tat leads a talented supporting cast including Ko Chuen-hsiang, Yeh Chuan-chen, and veteran actress Rosamund Kwan. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
