Ann Hui Movies

Director Anne Hui (Nigth and Fog) returns to the helm to explore the challenges faced by queer women in Hong Kong who take the non-traditional route in starting a family. A single lawyer whose friends have all settled down with life partners, bisexual Macy (Sandra Ng) finds lesbians too judgmental, but entertains the prospect of entering into a serious relationship with another woman after a chance run in with her ex-girlfriend Anita (Vivian Chow), who has recently learned she is pregnant following a one night stand. When Macy, too, becomes pregnant following a fling with her neighbor, the two women flirt with the possibility of starting a family together. Their plan hits an unexpected hitch, however, when Macy is shunned by her co-workers after word gets out that she is having a baby out of wedlock. Her spirit broken, depressed Macy begins taking abortion into serious consideration. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A woman finds it easier to come to the aid of a relative stranger than to deal with her family in this drama from Hong Kong-based director Ann Hui. Kwai (Paw Hee-ching) is a woman raising her teenage son On (Leung Chun-lung) on her own while looking after her elderly mother (Chan Lai-hing) who has been dealing with health problems. Kwai works at a produce market, and when she makes friends with Leung Foon (Chan Lai-wun), an older woman who has moved into her apartment building, she helps her get a job at the market and is eager to help her when the work gets too much for her. But while Kwai enjoys working with Leung Foon and helping her with her problems, she avoids dealing with her mother even when she's in the hospital and she has a distant relationship with On, who looks for emotional succor with a Christian worship group even though he doesn't believe in a supreme being and has little use for the advice adults give him. Tin shui wai dik yat yu ye (aka The Way We Are) was an official selection at the 2008 Tokyo Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

As Goddess of Mercy begins, Yang Rui (Liu Yunlong) is a callow womanizer in Beijing. He's always looking for action, which eventually leads him to An Xin (Vicki Zhao), who works at the local tae kwon do school. The more she spurns him, the more adamant he becomes. One rainy night, he goes too far, grabbing for her as she tries to enter her home, and she delivers a roundhouse kick to his head. He wakes up in her apartment, and apologizes to her. An Xin won't talk about her past. They begin a fragile courtship. He learns that she has a young son. A jealous ex gets wind of his new relationship, and arranges to have him brought up on embezzlement charges. An Xin helps him get out of jail, but then runs run off, leaving a long note. The film flashes back to An Xin's past as a gung-ho policewoman engaged to a journalist, Tienjun (Chen Jianbin). Assigned to a dangerous and remote district, she was forced to spend months away from him. Eventually, she met a brash young man, Mao Jie (Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse), and the two had a brief affair. Later, on a drug sting, she found out that Mao was a criminal. She took part in a deadly raid to bring down his family. An Xin reunited with Tienjun and they were married, after which she found out she was pregnant. Mao was released from prison and took vengeance. An Xin has left town because she believes that she's a destructive force, but Yang sets out to find her. Based on a popular novel by Hai Yan, Goddess of Mercy was directed by Ann Hui and had its U.S. premiere at the 2004 New York Asian American International Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

A largely unrelated follow-up to director Ann Hui's 2001 effort Visible Secret, this sequel finds director Abe Kwong stepping behind the camera (Hui remains on board as a producer) to offer a frightful tale of love and the supernatural. Their newlywed bliss short lived after husband Jack (Eason Chan Yik-shun) is hospitalized with serious injuries following a hit-and-run incident, both the doctors and his new bride, Ching (Jo Kuk Tso-lam), are pleasantly surprised by his unusually speedy recovery. Though he is soon on his feet again, Jack is subsequently plagued by terrifying visions of a female suicide victim every time he sneezes. Soon believing their new apartment haunted, Jack's fears are compounded by Ching's increasingly disturbing behavior. Suspecting that his new bride may be possessed, Jack seeks out the aid of old friend September (Cherrie Ying Choi-yi); the duo's investigation soon reveals that a relationship from Ching's mysterious past may hold the key to resolving the frightful supernatural occurrences. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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, Rovi

Ann Hui, a prominent filmmaker in the former British colony of Hong Kong, reflects on the political history of her country in a remarkable work, Qian Yan Wan Yu. The film centers on four people involved in the political activism of 1980's who reflect on their turbulent past from the vantage point of the disillusionment of the 1990's. The story begins with a young woman, Sow, fleeing into an empty tunnel wearing only a hospital gown. She is suffering from amnesia, and the memory she has lost includes a disappointing love story and a decade of social struggle in Hong Kong. Her old friend and admirer Tung, who is now working in a home for the retarded, is there to help her. In a flashback we see Sow as a fourteen-year-old, stealing Tung's wallet in a video arcade; this is their first meeting. Sow's relatives are fishermen who live on a boat and are not allowed to settle in Hong Kong. When she loses her family to a fire, she throws herself to the cause of fighting for the rights of the boat people. At the same time, she is obsessed by an idealist student, Yau. Ah Kam, a priest influenced by Marxism, is their mentor. Tung, on the other hand, prefers to play his guitar. By the mid Eighties, Hong Kong is on its way to a political awakening, and Sow and Tung are members of an activist group with Yau as their leader and Ah Kam as their conscience. But Sow is unable to get over her crush on Yau, despite the fact he is involved with someone else; Sow, however, is unaware of Tung's love for her and treats him like a good friend, as Tung finds comfort in his music. Yau wants to fight the system from within and runs for public office, eventually winning, while Ah Kam remains a pacifist radical and stages hunger strikes. Sow gets what she wants, but ends up in a border clinic having an abortion. One day Tung leaves to wander into China, promising Sow they will meet three months after. June 4, 1989, the day of the crackdown on Tiananmen Square, is for Sow the day when her political and emotional lives come crashing down. Street theatre sequences, which chronicle the life of real life activist Ng Chung Yin frame the story and offer oblique comments and parallel situations that pull the events of the characters' lives in historical context. Taking off from real events and real people, Hui relates the public lives of the characters as well as their hidden desires and half-denied sexual yearnings, producing a very credible account of the times and the people. Audiences who are not too familiar with Hong Kong's social and political history may have difficulties following the thread of events. Nelson Yu's photography is exceptional. Taiwanese star, Lee Kang-Sheng, who is familiar to the West for her roles in the award-winning films of Tsai Ming-Liang, plays Tung. Qian Yan Wan Yu competed at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

A tiny, part-time opera troupe in China's coastal Fujian province gets a job to perform in the village of Xitang from a wealthy businessman. The leader of the troupe, Xueyan, therefore gathers her performers and sets off. Trouble arises upon their arrival when Xueyan learns that she is expected do a strip-tease during the performance. Fortunately, one of her dear old friends Sampeng, himself a businessman, shows up to clear up the potentially sticky situation. Before getting into business, Sampeng had run a puppet-show theater. After helping Xueyan, the two renew their acquaintance and she professes her long-held secret love for him. Later, as Sampeng views the opera, he finds himself quietly yearning to return to performing. But his desire is complicated by the dark machinations of his conniving wife. Xueyan also has her problems, as her daughter desires to follow in her footsteps while Xueyan would rather she further her academic education. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director Ann Hui offers a self-portrait in this Taiwanese documentary, part of the "Personal Memoir of Hong Kong" series. Varying the visuals from 40-year-old black-and-white photos and interviews, to a dinner discussion with friends, Hui also talks directly into the camera. While exploring her own memories, Hui chronicles changes in Hong Kong over the past four decades. Shown at 1997 film festivals (London, Venice, Toronto, Vancouver). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this Hong Kong comedy drama a father's illness brings him closer to his daughter-in-law. May is married with a teenage son. She works as an executive in a trading company. After her mother-in-law drops dead from a stroke, she and her husband, Sun Bing, reluctantly take in Old Sun, a former air force lieutenant (none of his other children will take him). The family is immediately thrown into turmoil as they try to deal with Sun's strange behavior. He frequently wanders away, acts strangely, and suffers from rapid personality changes alternating between a child-like and extremely irritable state. They finally get medical help after they catch him eating a soap sandwich. The old man is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. May must now balance her career, her family and Sun's needs. She tries hard, but eventually the strain is too much for her. They must place Old Sun in a nursing home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Starring the fabulous Jet Li, this incredible historical epic with its deft blend of high drama, slapstick, and more subtle forms of comedy coupled with breathtaking martial-arts action represents Hong Kong -- filmmaking at its very best. The story contains many serpentine twists and a complex mixture of plots and subplots. The story is set during the Manchu dynasty in Canton. Li plays Sai Yuk, a courageous young martial-arts expert who is the very best around, as can be seen in the opening kung-fu matches. Those he beats swear vengeance, and a chaotic fight breaks out. All involved, including Sai Yuk, end up in jail. Sai Yuk's father is most displeased. Later Tiger Lei, a local official, decrees that whoever can beat his wife, Siu Huan, in a match will win his daughter Ting Ting's hand in marriage. Lei then builds an enormous scaffold on which the combatants will fight; the first fighter to touch the ground loses. Sai Yuk gladly takes on the feisty mother. Unfortunately, after seeing the homely woman he takes to be Ting Ting, Sai Yuk decides to lose the fight. His own wild and crazy mother is mortified by the potential loss of face. To save the family honor, she masquerades as Sai Yuk's brother, Tai Yuk, and beats the tar out of Siu Huan. Unfortunately, Lei insists that the victor honor the marriage contract, something complicated by the fact that Siu Huan finds Tai Yuk irresistibly handsome. While that mess gets untangled, another brews when the family learns that patriarch Fong is a member of the notorious rebel Red Lotus Society, a group the governor has vowed to destroy with the help of Tiger Lei. Back again to the romantic travails, after much confusion, Sai Yuk and Ting Ting agree to marry and begin preparing for their wedding. They hold a pre-nuptial feast, one that the governor attends. Chop-socky chaos ensues resulting in the accidental shooting of Siu Huan and the capture of the elder Fong. This leaves the son to figure out how to save his father from losing his head to the vengeful official. The story's climax involves a major confrontation between the governor, Sai-Yuk, his lady, his crazy mother, and a town full of irate citizens. A sequel, Fong Sai-Yuk 2, followed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Acclaimed Hong Kong director Ann Hui spins this crime drama about Chinese immigrants struggling to get ahead in Japan. Ben (Andy Lau) is a Chinese student with a fiery temper who is making a go at working as a tour guide. One day he meets fellow student Meng Tieh-lan (Cherie Chung). He immediately falls for her but she is simply not interested. When Tieh-lan's visit sponsor starts demanding physical favors in return, she returns into the arms of a yakuza named Asano, who is not only wanted by the cops but also by his fellow gangsters. When his former comrades do nab him, he gives Tieh-lan a tape and tells her to give it to Ishikawa (Yasuaki Kurota), the boss to a rival gang. The tape contains evidence that Asano's boss double-crossed and then killed Ishikawa's boss in a drug deal years ago. With no one else to turn to, Tieh-lan gets Ben to help her drop off the tape and flee Japan. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Twenty years ago, when she was a university student, To Choi Mei (Lin Ching Hsia) had an affair with one of her professors. The professor's pregnant wife convinced them to break the relationship off. Now she is a social worker, and while her old classmates flee the impending reunification with China by moving to Europe and the U.S., she is just taking on a teenaged boy (David Wu) as a new case. Losing sight of her professionalism entirely, she quickly becomes embroiled in a passionate relationship with the boy, whom she discovers to be the child of her old flame. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi