Rosamund Kwan Movies

An American movie maker famous for living large wants to die in his own unique manner -- which turns out to be harder to pull off than anyone expected -- in this offbeat comedy from Chinese director Feng Xiaogang. Don Tyler (Donald Sutherland) is a well-known American filmmaker who has come to China to direct an epic scale costume drama about the last emperor of China. Lucy (Rosamund Kwan), Tyler's Chinese-American assistant and translator, hires YoYo (Ge You), a cameraman whose career has seen better days, to make a documentary about Tyler's massive project. Tyler and YoYo quickly hit it off and become friends; Tyler, however, isn't feeling especially inspired, and is haunted by thoughts of his own mortality. YoYo tells Tyler of the traditions of the common funeral in China, but Tyler is convinced YoYo was talking about a "comedy funeral," and after he falls ill following his firing by producer Tony (Paul Mazursky), Tyler begs YoYo to arrange such a memorial for him. YoYo sheepishly agrees, and when he's unsure of how to proceed, he seeks the help of noted event promoter Louis King (Ying Da). King whips up a massive funeral for Tyler, but it turns out that neither Tyler nor YoYo have the money to pay for it. King then strikes upon the idea of bringing in corporate sponsors to help bring the event into the black. Soon, dozens of multinational corporations are vying for the privilege of scoring advertising space during Tyler's televised funeral, but a fly appears in the ointment -- Tyler turns a corner, and it looks as if he won't be dying after all. Big Shot's Funeral marked the first major international project for director Feng Xiaogang, who has worked several times in the past with leading man Ge You, a major comic star in China. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Hong Kong filmmaker Ching Siu-tung directed this lavish epic adventure set simultaneously in the present and in 1930s China, with the entire cast playing dual roles. International action star Jet Li plays Chow Si-kit, a bookish novelist whose writing is adversely affected by his problematic relationship with his wife Monica (Rosamund Kwan). Chow is best known for a series of books under the "King of Adventurers" banner in which his courageous alter-ego, an adventurer patterned on Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark, uses his impressive martial-arts skills and prodigious cunning to fight the Japanese. Chow's personal life is threatening his deadline, however, so his assistants Shing (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Yvonne (Charlie Yeung) decide to help him out by setting up a story line, which is then played out for the viewer. Hero Chow (Li again) is asked to purloin a letter from the Japanese embassy by the Chinese government. Writer Chow is upset that the story's heroine, Cammy (Kwan again) reminds him of Monica, so he makes her a villain. Chow and Shing's 1930s alter-egos, meanwhile, are looking for a magical box (not unlike the Lost Ark of the Covenant in the film's model) which can be used to divine the future or -- if the necessary safeguards are not followed -- bring evil onto whoever opens it. The box is also being sought by the Japanese military and a group of criminals called the Salt Gang, whose leader (Ngai Sing) makes the mistake of opening it without taking steps to protect himself. Monica then takes over the writing and sends the characters to the magical scripture which can help them use the box's power to defeat their enemies. Another version of the film cuts all of the modern-day material and adds new 1930s footage to explain the abrupt shifts in story line caused by the intervention of the multiple authors. Law Kar-ying co-stars with Billy Chow. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Gordon Chan Kar-seung spins this comedy about Lam Chiu-wing (Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing), an ambitious sleazebag who, at the film's outset, loses his job and his girl on the same day. He crashes with his ne'er-do-well musician friend James (Tony Leung Kar-fai) and subsequently takes advantage of him. When James falls for comely businesswoman Winnie Tsang (Rosamund Kwan Chi-lam), Lam leapfrogs over his friend and starts going out with her. He eventually lands a job at her company, impressing the higher-ups with his near-sociopathic ease of lying. Soon, Lam has crawled his way to the top of his profession but realizes that he has trashed all those around him to get there. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

This lavish historical epic from Hong Kong tells a tale of love and deception set in the year 206 B.C. The leader of the Xiang Clan (Ray Lui) has pledged to overturn the Qin Dynasty; he has the support of his woman (Rosamund Kwan), but trouble begins brewing when a dangerous interloper (Gong Li) uses her wiles to turn the leader's head. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Benny Chan directs and Tsui Hark produces this sprawling fantasy yarn. The film opens with kung fu master Ma Kwun-mo (Tony Leung) being saved by the stunning Pak Wan-fai (Anita Mui) and her pet crane Yuen Yuk. In gratitude, Ma promises not to reveal Pak's identity to anyone. Later, at a kung fu meeting attended by Ma, the evil So Pang-hoi (Lawrence Ng) orders a fleet of poisonous bats to kill every other student at martial arts schools. His plans are thwarted by Yuen Yuk. While hurriedly searching for a remedy for the bats toxins to treat stricken pupils, Pak encounters the embittered Butterfly Lam (Rosamund Kwan), and soon the two are embroiled in a vicious battle using lethal sound waves. Meanwhile, So continues on his quest to take over the world. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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, Rovi

In this, the third of what has become a long series of films, Doctor Wong Fei-Hung (Jet Li), a master of the martial arts, defender of the poor, upholder of tradition and a Confucian scholar (in addition to being a medical man) is visiting Beijing during a competition designed to determine what group has the best Lion King dancers. The doctor's father, a member of the Cantonese Association in town, is well known for his ability to turn out the best Lion King, and the many criminal gangs of the city, usually embroiled in rivalry against one another, are of one mind when it comes to wanting to eliminate the threat that this "outsider" will win. However, they had not counted on the intervention of the good doctor and his helpers. Simultaneously, the doctor foils several nefarious plots against the government - one of which has gotten his lady-love, Aunt Yee (Rosamund Kwan) involved. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Gordon Chan Kar-seung directs this critically panned crime comedy starring Andy Lau Tak-wah as Wong Kau-tai, an idiot savant who is mistaken for the head of a massive and ruthless crime syndicate after his mobland doppelganger is arrested in India. Everyone quickly becomes concerned with Wong's bizarre behavior and his fascination with toys, especially his bodyguard Chung (Aaron Kwok Fu-shing) and the gang's number two guy Uncle Seven (Ng Man-tat). When Wong declares that the gang is getting out of crime all together, crime load Master Dragon (Yuen Woo-ping) orders his stunning hitwoman daughter Veronica Kwan (Rosamund Kwan Chi-lam), who looks fetching in a leather jumpsuit, to marry Wong, and then kill him. Sandra Ng Kwan-yu also appears. Rumor has it that director Gordon Chan was forced to direct this film by the triads. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Though generally unknown to Western audiences, Tsui Hark is considered a giant among Asian filmmakers and this exceptional epic, combining hard-hitting martial-arts action with romance, comedy, history, genuine poignance, and sharp insight into the effects of the century-long encroachment of Western civilization in Asia more than amply demonstrates why. The story centers on the exploits of Master Wong Fei-hung (a familiar figure in Hong Kong cinema) a 19th-century doctor, Confucian, and exceptional martial artist. As the film begins, he has just opened a new clinic in Canton Province. To help him with patients, he hires a few apprentices including Porky Lang (the comic relief) and Buck Teeth Sol, who was raised outside China and barely can speak the language. Wong is platonically involved with the lovely, worldly Aunt Yee, who has been abroad most of her life. Wong soon gets in trouble when he begins using his skills to protect and assist the poor and helpless in his community. As a result, someone torches his clinic, forcing Wong and his compadres to set off and get spectacularly staged revenge. They also try vainly to stop Western culture from changing traditional Chinese ways, but they soon find that they may as well be shoveling sand against a rising tide. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Hong Kong filmmakers Jimmy Heung and Wong Jing co-directed this highly successful gambling film which begat a spate of unrelated sequels. Wong had actually written a similar (and highly profitable) film for television nine years earlier (The Shell Game), but this one marked the beginning of a mini-trend of casino-oriented theatrical crime films including the even more popular God of Gamblers. Alan Tam and Andy Lau star as Sam Law and Crab Chan, old con-artist friends who get back together and move to America after Crab's release from prison. Sam helps the owner of a casino catch a group of Japanese raiders who have bilked the establishment out of over 60,000,000 dollars in two weeks, falling in love with a wealthy heiress named Koyan (Idy Chan) in the process. Crab saves Sam's life when the Japanese crooks seek revenge, only to have his hand slashed in an injury which ends his ability to pull off scams. Koyan's father offers to help him and give him a legitimate job if he stops committing crimes as well, and Sam accepts, leaving Crab hanging out to dry when the Japanese come calling. Crab decides to rip off the raiders in a high-stakes game, but they learn what he did to them afterwards and kidnap Koyan, leading to a violent and vicious denouement. Rosamund Kwan co-stars with Lung Fong, Shum Wai, and Che-Kirk Wong. The unconnected Casino Raiders II and No Risk, No Gain: Casino Raiders -- The Sequel were among many knockoffs which followed. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Kenny Bee is a shy young man whose wealthy parents want him to marry, no matter what. Although he goes to Waikiki with his friend Lolantho (Chen Pai-chiang), neither manage to succeed with women and when they return home, the anxious parents now have another problem: someone is embezzling money from the family's corporate business. In order to flush out the thief, the introverted son poses as Lolantho's chauffeur - and in that guise, the two come across a pair of gorgeous women they met in Waikiki (Cherie Chung and Maggie Cheung - both former Miss Hong Kong title holders). Mix-ups and misunderstandings abound, as well as some dirty-dealing from the suspected embezzler, but love is unerringly true and although Cupid's arrow might be briefly deflected, it ultimately hits the right target. Neither cerebral nor hysterical, this slapstick comedy is likely to amuse viewers of any orientation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi