Sylvia Chang Movies

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

This Taiwanese comedy is set in Lower Manhattan and chronicles the travails of two Taiwanese illegal aliens as they try to get a green card. The woman, Siao-yu, works as a sweatshop seamstress while her lover, Jiang Wei, is a student who works in a fish market. They meet an Italian-American, Mario, who has racked up a large gambling debt. They agree to give him the $10,000 he needs if he will only marry Siao-yu and get her a green card. Mario is anything but an ideal husband as he is slovenly, middle-aged, and dull; his idea of fun is to play cards and occasionally sleep with his wife, from whom he is separated. Following the "wedding" Siao-yu moves into his spare bedroom, and gradually the two become friends. As they become closer, their lovers begin to feel jealous, and eventually Siao-yu must choose whether to be with Jiang or stay with Mario. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Yee's highly lauded and sentimental tearjerker swept the 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards and was warmly embraced by audiences due to its well-developed characters and exceptional performances. Anita Yuen stands out as Min, an ebullient young woman who came from a street-singing family and now lives in a broken-down apartment house. Her upstairs neighbor is Kit (Lau Ching-wan), an aspiring songwriter who has just broken up with his fiancée, a successful singer (Carina Lau). Kit knows that his perky downstairs neighbor has the charisma and talent necessary to become a star herself; he is re-energized by the prospect of shepherding her career and begins falling in love with her. Unfortunately, Min's childhood bone cancer -- which had been in complete remission for a decade -- returns and she soon finds her declining health sapping most of her excitement for both life and her career. Kit devotes himself entirely to getting Min back on her feet, setting the stage for the obligatory weepy denouement. Despite its "Disease of the Week" story line, Yee (who also wrote the screenplay) never allows his film to become trite or maudlin, and his strong cast (notably Yuen and Lau, Hong Kong's Best Actress and Actor winners of 1993 for their performances) never overplay the material. Paul Chun and Petrina Fung took home awards in the supporting categories, ably backed up by Carrie Ng, Sylvia Chang, and Jamie Luk. Herman Yau appears in a cameo. ~ Robert Firsching, 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

Famously rotund kung fu master Sammo Hung Yuen-ting stars in this bittersweet drama about Slim, New York City taxi driver who fled his native China during the height of the Cultural Revolution. Though he has only written home once during the sixteen years abroad, Slim ventures back home. Upon arrival, he learns that his sister is having a second child in direct defiance of China's often draconian birth control policy. His journey back to his village is pampered by his attractive, yet thick, cousin Jenny (Sylvia Chang Ai-chia) who has no sense of direction. Once he finally sees his family, Slim finds himself battling feelings of guilt along with feelings for his cousin. Unfortunately, Jenny is betrothed and her wedding is near. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this drama, three Chinese women with vastly different backgrounds get acquainted and become friends amid the social desolation of New York. Chao Hong (Sichingowa) is from mainland China, and has come to marry a Chinese man with American citizenship. Aside from the difficulties of being newly married to a virtual stranger, she suffers from separation from her family and her homeland. Wang Hsiung Ping (Sylvia Chang) was an actress in Taiwan, and has come to New York to be with her American boyfriend. Now she has broken up with him, and is not at all certain what she wants to do. Li Feng Jiao (Maggie Cheung) is financially secure, as she owns a restaurant in the U.S. and has property in the U.S. and in Hong Kong - but she is too busy to have a romantic life. ~ Clarke Fountain, 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

Popular Hong Kong action filmmaker Ringo Lam (City on Fire and Replicant) reputedly directed this third of four official sequels to 1982's Aces Go Places only as a favor to star Karl Maka, and it shows. King Kong (Sam Hui) once again joins bald detective Albert Au (Maka) and his son Baldy Jr. as they fly to New Zealand to save Albert's wife (Sylvia Chang) from a gang of crooks who have kidnapped her. The crooks, led by Ronald Lacey in a send-up of his role in Raiders of the Lost Ark, are trying to get control of an experimental prism which they need for a machine which turns men into indestructible super-beings. The film is dark, violent, and not quite as funny as previous installments, and the goofy subtitles call Sylvia Chang's character "Sylvia" instead of "Nancy." Still, there is a good supporting cast of genre veterans like Sally Yeh, Kwan Tak-hing, and Cho Tat-wah to please Asian film buffs and Lam keeps the film moving at a speedy clip. The official series ended with the next installment, 1989's Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit, but was revived eight years later with a new cast in the subpar 97 Aces Go Places. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Shanghai Blues combines romantic comedy, slapstick, music, and several classic coincidences (a favorite ploy of director and writer Tsui Hark to tell the story of a man (Kenny Bee) and a female dancer (Sylvia Chang) who meet under a Shanghai bridge in 1937 as they seek shelter from the Japanese bombing of the city. They are immediately drawn to each other and make a pact to meet under the bridge again when the war has ended. But their plans are thwarted and ten years later, the man gets an apartment in Shanghai (where he works as a musician, songwriter, and clown) unaware that the dancer -- for whom he has been searching -- is his downstairs neighbor. Meanwhile, a young, bubbly woman makes friends with the dancer at the club where she performs and inadvertently causes a considerable mix-up that at first looks fated to keep the star-crossed lovers apart. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

After appearing in cameos in the first two Aces Go Places movies, it was only a matter of time before cult filmmaker Tsui Hark took a turn in the director's chair himself, and the result is a spectacularly silly send-up of the spy genre and one of the series' best installments. King Kong (Sam Hui) is kidnapped in Paris by a British agent called James (Jean Marchent) who wants to recover one of the stolen crown jewels, the Star of Fortune. For some reason, the jewel is hidden at the headquarters of the Hong Kong police, meaning that King Kong will have to steal the jewel without the knowledge of his best friend, bald detective Albert Au (Karl Maka). Albert and his wife, the fiery Superintendent Ho (Sylvia Chang), have a new baby in their house, but their tempestuous relationship produces as many fireworks as ever, with Albert ready to walk out and King Kong using the situation to his advantage by setting Albert up on a date so he can pull off the heist. Eventually, of course, King Kong realizes what the duplicitous James is up to and joins his friend in bringing the bad guys to justice. Peter Graves and Richard Kiel show up to add to the fun, and there are numerous jabs at various genre clichés to go alongside the series' usual blend of action, slapstick, and interpersonal conflict. Purists should note that the dubbed English version on Thorn-EMI is missing approximately 12 minutes and loses a great deal in the translation. The next installment, 1986's Aces Go Places IV, would be helmed by Ringo Lam. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide