Sylvia Chang

A woman stuck in middle age may yet find love if her mother can stay out of the way in this comedy from first-time director Frank Lin. Yvonne (Sylvia Chang) is a divorcee who is about to turn fifty and feels as if life is passing her by. Yvonne works for a throw-away newspaper where ad sales is more important than content, and her life is dominated by her overbearing mother (Lan Yeung), and to a lesser extent her slacker son, Joshua (Randall Park). When Yvonne meets Jose (Esai Morales), a handsome dentist, while working on a piece for the paper, the two hit it off and begin dating. However, Jose is Hispanic, and Mother is horrified at the prospect of her daughter marrying a Mexican-American, and with Mother about to undergo major back surgery, her stranglehold over the family is stronger than ever. Can Yvonne choose between her own happiness and that of her mother? American Fusion also stars Pat Morita, Collin Chou and James Hong. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This drama, based on actual events, concerns a young woman who is trying to come to terms with the news that she has contracted a fatal illness. Fion (Josie Ho) has received the news that her test for the HIV virus has come back positive, and she's understandably distraught. A hospital volunteer (Sylvia Chang) comes by to comfort the woman, and begins telling her stories about her son Chi Mo (Chris Lee), a hemophiliac who fought a brave struggle against AIDS (which he contracted through a blood transfusion) before dying at the age of 23. Chi Mo's courage and good humor prove to be an inspiration to Fion as she learns to live with HIV. Dei Gau Tin Cheung was adapted from two books written by the real Chi Mo, who succumbed to AIDS in 1996. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

In this upbeat Taiwanese comedy, a dark domestic cloud proves to have a silver lining for an oppressed housewife. The trouble begins when aging dentist Mr. Chen tires of merely eyeing the sweet things at the local swimming pool and takes up with his granddaughter's much-younger teacher. His poor daughter Hsiao-chi is crushed by the news, for she always envied her parents' union. Her brother Sze-ming is too busy with his own family and struggling business to care. His tune changes when he learns that his mother, not content to stay home and grieve, falls in love with a wealthy Hong Kong gigolo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Ang Lee's follow-up to his surprise box-office hit The Wedding Banquet is another look at ethnic and sexual conflicts in a Chinese family, with meals as a centerpiece of the film. Master chef Chu (Sihung Lung) is a long-time widower who lovingly cooks large Sunday dinners for his three daughters, who view the meals as too traditional. Secretly, however, successful airline executive Jia-Chien (Chien-Lien Wu) loves traditional cooking and would like to be a chef like her father, if women were permitted to do so. Her older sister Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei Yang) is unmarried and cynical about men, but she becomes attracted to a volleyball coach and eventually pursues him vigorously. The youngest daughter, Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang), is a college student who becomes pregnant from her frequent sexual escapades. As the film progresses, the personal relationships between the daughters and their significant others change unexpectedly. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Sylvia Chang Ai-chia directs this affable romantic comedy about anxieties over Hong Kong's impending handover to Mainland China and the cultural differences between the two countries. Ma-lei (Gong Li), who was born in Hong Kong but raised in Beijing, is having a dickens of a time trying to convince immigrations officials that her birthplace should get her a visa to live and work in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, her well-to-do workaholic boyfriend Peter (Wilson Lam Chun-yip) is worried that his stodgy father will not approve of Ma Lei. While this is unfolding, bumptious toilet paper salesman Wong Kwok-wai (Kenny Bee) is suffering through a divorce for deciding to leave England, where he's lived for quite a while, and return to Hong Kong to open a factory. When Wong and Ma-lei meet, romantic sparks soon start to fly. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this unorthodox family drama, Big Sis Wah (Sylvia Chang) is the no-nonsense madam of a brothel in Kowloon. Aside from the nature of her business, she is a down-to-earth, thoroughly traditional mother of a teen-aged daughter. She and her daughter are going through a difficult period, but her love and common sense prevail in this situation over extraordinary odds. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

With this melodrama about a Chinese immigrant couple trying to succeed in the harsh realities of Margaret Thatcher's economically depressed England, the sobering social commentary of director Mike Newell's television work met the airy charm of his romantic films. After their wedding in Hong Kong, Lily (Sylvia Chang) and Chen (Danny Dun) arrive in London's Chinatown to begin building a life together in the West. After five years working as a waiter in an expensive Chinese restaurant, Chen and his wife welcome a son, and Lily's older sister Mui (Jodie Long) follows them to London and moves in with them. Chen has finally raised enough capital to start his own business, which takes off, and his family seems to have achieved the ideal of modern capitalist success. Soon, however, Chen is caught up in a violent feud between rival Chinese gangs, each of which wants to muscle in on his lucrative outfit. Soursweet (1989) was based on a novel by Timothy Mo. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Future action spectacular maestro Johnny To spins this melodrama based loosely on divorce drama Kramer vs. Kramer. Former motorcycle racer Long (Chow Yun-fat) supports his young son Porky (Wong Kwan-yuen) working as a lowly construction worker. Though they struggle to get by, Long and his son live happily. One day, Sylvia (Sylvia Chang) -- the kid's mother -- shows up after an extended stint in America. A successful ad exec, she casts her son in a television commercial she is producing. Soon Sylvia's long-dormant maternal feelings come rushing to the fore. A flashback shows that Sylvia dumped Long when she discovered Long with another woman. Her mother told Sylvia that her child was born dead before her mom fobbed him off onto Long. Deciding that Long with his crude ways and blue-collar income would be a poor influence on her son, Sylvia tries to get Porky to come back with her to the States. Porky resists and vows to help his dad try to restart his racing career. Chow Yun-fat won a Golden Horse for his acting performance in this movie. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

The businessman in this film has been in a committed relationship with a woman for over seven years, and in all that time he hasn't dallied with anyone else. He is not married to her, but he may as well be, except for the fact that he is deeply moved by the sight of beautiful women. One day, while on a business trip to Singapore, a sexy thief hides her booty in his luggage in order to evade capture by the police. In order to ensure that he will hook up with her again, she comes on to him, leading him to think that she is available. Later, in his hotel room, she sneaks in and retrieves her jewels but leaves behind a warm note. In this comedy, the hapless businessman mistakes these attentions for intimations of true love -- or at least the possibility of true lust, and he frantically tries to make them come true. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide