Last gasp heroics

Veteran comedian Ge You plays a miserable investor in first-time director Zheng Zhong's movie Gasp. Instead of his usual bald and cap-wearing look, Ge wears a wig and speaks English. Instead of playing for laughs, Ge plays a man on the edge of collapse.

The small-budget movie is the realization of a 10-year promise made between Ge and producer Li Xiaodian, who met at the set of director Feng Xiaogang's Be There, or Be Square, in 1998. The movie also stars American actor John Savage (The Thin Red Line and Hair), Hong Kong actress Kelly Lin, and mainland actor Liu Hua. Savage portrays a businessman who tries to solve his financial crisis by finding a buyer for his struggling cheese factory so that he can go to live in Spain. He comes to Beijing and meets a Chinese investor, an actress-to-be and a mine owner. Though she claims that she wants to buy Frank's factory, she also has business problems and a dysfunctional family.

Ge, who is regarded as a box office sure-thing, especially during the Spring Festival season, brings his unique skills to the summer market. The film opened at cinemas yesterday.