(beijing weekend)
Updated: 2007-06-29 10:08

In the Mood for Love

Wong Kar-Wai returns with his most accessible work yet. Chow Mo-Wan (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) and his wife move into their apartment on the same day that Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) and her husband move into the apartment next door. At first their relationship consists of passing pleasantries and mundane mahjong games with the neighbors but soon a sneaking suspicion bubbles its way to the surface. The increasing absence of their respective spouses arrives at the same time that Chow sees his wife carrying the same handbag as Mrs. Chan. Mrs. Chan, in turn, notices that her husband sports a tie similar to that worn by Chow. The two begin a clandestine friendship, and soon discover their desire turning from revenge to genuine passion.

Wong's movies are about love, but are not necessarily love stories. The exquisite detail in which we witness the growing passion and passing frustrations of the would-be adulterers gives Wong ample chances to weave his signature cinematic magic. Everything from the music, to the glorious cinematography, to the sublime performances echoes the longing and inner emotion felt by the two protagonists.

Tony Leung Chiu Wai won the Best Actor Award at Cannes Film Festival in 2000.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Academy award-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is more than just a movie; it's a phenomenon. The Ang Lee film has had a tremendous impact on the Asian movies that are financed and distributed to American audiences.

The disappearance of a magical jade sword spurs a breathtaking quest for the missing treasure. Li (Chow Yun-Fat) is embittered by the loss of his jade sword, and his unrequited pursuit of Yu (Michelle Yeoh) is further complicated by the mysterious intrusion of a murderer. The identity of the assassin is gradually unveiled as a beautiful, well-to-do noble who is more than what she seems to be (Zhang Ziyi).

Shaolin Soccer

After a two-year break, Stephen Chow finally returned to Hong Kong screens with Shaolin Soccer. Chow stars as Sing, a Shaolin disciple famed for his "Mighty Steel Leg". He's inspired to start a soccer team composed of Shaolin martial artists after he meets Fung (Ng Man-Tat). Fung was once a brilliant soccer player called "Golden Leg Fung", but he became crippled after throwing a match some 20 years ago. His rival Hung (Patrick Tse) was the cause of Fung's injury, and now leads an intimidating soccer team with the unsubtle moniker "Evil Team". Fung's goal is to meet his old rival on the playing field, but first they have to get a team together.

Easily his most ambitious film, it combined the usual Chow nonsense comedy with a sports storyline and special effects. The result: the biggest local moneymaker in Hong Kong history, and a critically-lauded effort which took home the 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor and a bunch of others.

Infernal Affairs

Top-notch commercial filmmaking starring more big names than any Hong Kong film probably deserves. Directed by Andrew Lau, Alan Mak, this cops-and-robbers thriller is about a pair of detectives leading undercover lives. Yan (Tony Leung) has lived deep inside organized crime for 10 years, while Ming (Andy Lau, not to be confused with the director) is a highly placed, corrupt internal affairs officer. This intricate and well-told story of loyalty and betrayal has been the stuff of other Hong Kong crime melodramas.

At over HK$55 million ($7 million), the film has gone on to become the territory's second highest-grossing local film behind Shaolin Soccer when it was released. It has won the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and three other awards at the 2003 Hong Kong Film Awards.

Perhaps Love

Hong Kong director Peter Chan continues his quest for love in Perhaps Love - a Chinese-language, Broadway style musical film. The story itself is simple. With its backdrop in present-day Shanghai, a female film star Sun Na (Zhou Xun) runs into her ex-lover, Lin Jiandong (Takeshi Kaneshiro), also a famous actor on a movie set in a circus troupe. But, the actress is now together with the director Nie Wen (Jacky Cheung). Lin harbors mixed love and hatred for Sun, and plots to take revenge to her for ten years of waiting after she left him to chase her dream of being a star. The three characters struggling in the circus troupe movie happened to suffer the same triangle in real life.

Director Peter Chan invites Bollywood choreographer and dancer Farah Khan to design the Broadway-style dance numbers set in Old Shanghai. Zhou Xun has won the Best Actress award for her acting in this film at the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2006.

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