Tony Au Movies
Chinese Odyssey 2002, produced by Wong Kar-Wai, is writer-director Jeff Lau's energetic parody of Chinese kung fu epics, with a bit of Shakespeare thrown in. Chang Chen (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) plays the Emperor, who, desperate for the free-spirited life of a wanderer, tries to escape from the royal palace with his sister, the Princess (Faye Wong, little seen since starring in Wong's Chungking Express). He's caught and returned to his angry mother by the royal guards, but the Princess, disguised as a man, manages to escape. Meanwhile, King Bully (Tony Leung, who also starred in Chungking Express) has returned to his hometown, where he is widely despised for his bullying ways, to run a restaurant with his tomboy sister, Phoenix (Vicki Zhao of Shaolin Soccer). They have a very close relationship. In fact, King Bully mistakenly believes that he can read his sister's mind. When the Princess arrives in town, King Bully finds himself drawn to her, but, believing she's a man, decides that his attraction is some kind of empathy with Phoenix. King Bully and the Princess spend a night eating and drinking together. In the morning, the Princess leaves. King Bully, determined that the Princess will marry Phoenix, vows to bring the charismatic young "man" back. She does return, but soon realizes that the royal guards are following her. Meanwhile, the Emperor convinces his mother to let him leave the palace to go look for the Princess. By the time he gets to town, the Princess has been carted off by the royal guards, with King Bully in hot pursuit. He's immediately attracted to Phoenix. More confusion ensues. Chinese Odyssey 2002 had its U.S. premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. The film was awarded Best Film, and Faye Wong Best Actress, by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, (more)
- 1993
Wong Fei-hung runs a martial arts academy in Canton, and is the exemplar of all sorts of native Chinese virtues. He is appalled to discover that the rent on his space in Canton was raised significantly while he was away in Hong Kong. In addition, he has to face the escalating enmity of a local government type, Lui, a martial artist who has adopted many western values and is conspiring with western businessmen to disrupt the Chinese way of doing things in the region. Tournament competitions between rival academies are only a prelude to the final competition between the two masters, in which the Iron Chicken style will be used against the Centipede style of fighting. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jet Li
- 1991
In this romantic melodrama, Wu Mei-yi sings for the guests at her father's nightclub in Shanghai. It's the middle of the Japanese occupation, and her father has just been arrested by the Japanese. She is pregnant, and knows it. Her baby's father is a man she truly loves, but he's not here and may even be dead. Meanwhile, the Japanese are in charge. She responds to the proposal of one of the Japanese officers and marries him. Just after the war, We Mei-yi's long-absent Chinese boyfriend tracks her down in Japan, where she lives with her husband and child. He is heartbroken at the choice she's made and is accusatory, but she defends herself ably. Not only that, but she has come to love her new man and is not prepared to give him up for a past love. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Mui, Tony Leung Kar-Fai, (more)
- 1987
A Cantonese detective trained in Scotland Yard returns to Hong Kong to take on the mob in this bloody crime drama. His assignment leads him to the hit man (Lau Tak Wah), an orphan who was raised by the notorious leader of the syndicate. Although they respect each others abilities, the hit man and the cop head for a violent and inevitable showdown. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1986
A wife becomes a widow when her policeman husband commits suicide by jumping off the roof of his building at work. Shocked at his death, she is further surprised to discover he had a mistress and a four-year-old son in Taiwan. After an attempt on the widow's life, the mistress is murdered, leaving the young boy in the care of the late man's wife. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deanie Ip, Elaine Jin, (more)
- 1986
- NC17
Noted art director Tony Au Ding-ping helms this acclaimed romantic fantasy featuring Chow Yun-fat and Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia. Sony Yu (Chow) is a famous orchestra conductor who recently suffers from a series of bizarre visions of a beautiful woman and a Qin dynasty era terracotta statue. When he ventures to a exhibit of such ancient relics, he meets Cheung Yuet-heung (Lin), who not only looks exactly like the woman in his dreams, but also suffers from similarly intense but decidedly more violent visions -- in one Yu gets garroted by the imperial guard and others are simply too gory to be divulged. Soon the two consult with a medium who takes them that they are the reincarnation of a pair of lovers murdered some 2000 years previous. Yu's girlfriend Wah-lei realizes that she has no part in this relationship and graciously bows out. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat, Cher Yeung, (more)
- 1984
The time is the late 1930s and a pending war with the Japanese forms a part of the epic setting for a fashionable and old-fashioned love affair between a once-wealthy widow and divorcée (Cora Miao) newly arrived in Hong Kong and a rich Chinese playboy educated at Cambridge. The epic treatment of their romance is provided by background music in the form of Chinese opera or contemporary love songs and dazzling, opulent settings along the seashore or in tourist spots. The gloss and glitter dominate but cannot hide the flaws in the plot or eliminate the moments of wooden acting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cora Miao, Chow Yun-Fat, (more)
- 1983
Set designer Tony Au Ding-ping makes his directorial debut in this stylish romantic drama set in Paris. While venturing to France, Ha-ching (Carol Cheng Yu-ling) visits her old school chum, Bing (Pat Ha Man-chik), who is engaged to be married. While on the subway, she is approached by Hong Kong lothario Kwong-ping (Chow Yun-fat), who she later meets again at a party thrown by Bing's fiancé. Though charmed by his charisma and magnetic good looks, Ha-ching is wary of Kwong-ping's wandering eye. When Ha-ching's bumptious husband also visits Paris, she has to choose between her rakish would-be lover and her dullard spouse. Of course, her decision is complicated greatly when she finds Kwong-ping in the sack with Bing. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat
- 1982
A landmark of the nascent Hong Kong New Wave of the early '80s, this melodrama -- directed by Ann Hui -- concerns the plight of Vietnamese peasants shortly after the fall of Saigon. The film centers on a Japanese photojournalist named Shiomi Akutagawa (George Lam Chi-cheung) who ventures to Danang to document Vietnam's attempts at rebuilding after the war. At first he's bussed around by government officials showing off quaint villages and happy, healthy children. Later, he manages to get permission to wander about the countryside without a government chaperon. Soon he happens upon a young lass named Cam Nuong (Season Ma Si-san) who is from a desperately poor family. At first she is suspicious and even hostile towards the foreigner but quickly they develop a bond of sorts. As Akutagawa starts seeing Vietnam through Cam Nuong's eyes, he starts to realize that everyday life is far different from the state propaganda. Villagers live in constant terror of marauding soldiers, and children scavenge the bodies of executed prisoners for valuables. This film, which was shot in Mainland China, garnered armloads of Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. This film also launched the career of future pop icon and movie star Andy Lau. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lam Chi-Cheung, Season Ma, (more)
