The leading man

Iconic Hong Kong film star Chow Yun-fat was feted at the Busan International Film Festival this month for his contribution to Asian cinema. Mathew Scott was there to witness the actor’s moment of glory.

By the look of it, Chow Yun-fat doesn’t care much for the spotlight. At times he can even come across as more than slightly bemused by all the attention and the fuss.

The 68-year-old Hong Kong star exuded a similar vibe as he walked the red carpet on Oct 4 — the opening night of the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Chow was on his way to receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award. The prize this year honors a stellar career spanning around 100 films, including some that are recognized as part of the canon of Hong Kong cinema.

Some of the biggest names in contemporary cinema, including the French maverick Luc Besson, were present at Chow’s event. The distinguished audience marked the occasion with a standing ovation for Chow. Joining them on a big screen were filmmakers Ang Lee, Ann Hui, and actor Andy Lau. Chow smiled and waved politely in response to the touching tributes paid to him.

"Everything is an illusion," the much-feted actor declared at the media event held in his honor the next day. "The best we can do is just to keep living in the present," he added, quoting from Buddhist teachings. Following the path of the Buddha, Chow said, helped him keep his feet firmly on the ground.

"I was born with nothing so it’ll be OK when I leave with nothing," the actor waxed philosophical. "I learned everything I know from films."

A long and illustrious career

Chow’s illustrious career spans some 50 years and stretches from Hong Kong to Hollywood. Born into a struggling family on Lamma Island, the actor has come a long way.

BIFF this year was a celebration of the man and his movies. Besides reflecting on his life and career so far at media and public events, there was time for Chow to indulge in his two passions outside of cinema — running and photography. The festival screened three of his films, representing three distinct stages of Chow’s career

The first of these is John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1986), arguably the first definitive Hong Kong noir that pretty much launched Chow as a star. In this revenge drama, an impossibly fresh-faced Chow is shown simmering to the boil, until he explodes into action.

In Ang Lee’s Oscar smash Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Chow has grown older and wiser, though still driven by the desire to right life’s wrongs, no matter what the personal cost.

The showcase also included this year’s One More Chance, directed by Anthony Pun. In it, Chow plays an aging gambler, a character who has seen and done it all, eventually stumbling down the path to redemption.

Looking back on his career so far, Chow said he was comfortable with the work he’s done, as well as with the fact that he’s no longer young.

"I don’t mind getting wrinkles," he said. "I’m not afraid of getting old."

Like it happens in films

The story of Chow’s rise to stardom from humble beginnings sounds like the stuff of the movies. He lost his father at a young age, and took on all manner of jobs to supplement the meager family income.

By the time Chow was 18, the family had moved to Kowloon. That was the heyday of television in Hong Kong. Chow fell in with a generation of young hopefuls intent on making a career in showbiz.

What the cameras captured — and the audiences quickly warmed to — were Chow’s honesty, and empathetic portrayal of the roles he essayed. In the pantheon of Hong Kong action stars, he — like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan — has managed to hold his own as a believable enforcer of justice while at the same time matching the very best smolders and pouts that are the hallmark of Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Compared with Lee and Chan, Chow comes across as more familiar, more accessible and more like the common man. Those attributes were in evidence in Busan, as he shared his story with an admiring audience, mixing memory with humor.

At one point, Chow joked that he only ever made films for money. But toward the end of his time on stage, he paused to have a think before delivering his last line for that evening, as always, with perfect timing.

"What films have brought me in life cannot be compared to anything else. If there is no film, there would be no Chow Yun-fat," he said.