Hong Kong cinema’s fortunes looked up at the end of 2004. Stephen Chiau’s Kung Fu Hustle packed cinemas over Christmas and smashed box office records. The colourful action spectacular paid tribute to local cinema heritage while pushing the boundaries of martial arts action with abundant digital effects. The impressive Kung Fu Hustle was the event movie of the year for many local cinemagoers.
Kung Fu Hustle, which was backed by Columbia Tri-Star, was a boost for the industry after another difficult year. 2004 saw the number of local films slump to a new low. Producers were cautious in green-lighting new productions, while audiences remained unpredictable and careful with their spending on local movies. Many weeks saw no new local releases, and even the summer had few large attractions. The Twins Effect II, Three of a Kind, New Police Story and Yesterday Once More were the only summer films able to do respectable business alongside the Hollywood big-hitters. While Chinese New Year traditionally has a burst of high-profile releases, only two local movies were ready for the February 2005’s holiday.
Hong Kong-China co-productions continued to occupy a share of releases, although their fortunes were mixed at the local box office. Amendments to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) at the start of 2004 nonetheless made these co-productions more attractive to the city’s filmmakers. Directors are now allowed to film entirely in Hong Kong, for instance, and no longer have to include a section shot in China. Meanwhile, theatrical releases for commercial DV (digital video) films all but disappeared in 2004. Venues for DV titles dried up, so they took the straight-to-video route instead.
Despite having fewer films to choose from, avid cinemagoers still found filmmakers pushing forward in new and interesting directions. Thrillers offered some of the year’s most exciting viewing. Derek Yee delivered a rough cinematic ride in his One Nite in Mongkok. Set against a gang war backdrop, Yee’s movie focused on a prostitute (Cecilia Cheung), a mainland killer (Daniel Wu), and their police pursuers. It was a fast-paced film, but it still managed to develop sympathetic characters on both sides of the law. Soi Cheang, who moved from his past horror flicks into thriller territory, made Love Battlefield. Holiday plans for a feuding couple (Eason Chan and Niki Chow) get wrecked when a visiting gang steals their car and takes one of them hostage. The relationship drama segues into emotional and intense actioner staged across the city.
Like Cheang, Pang Ho-cheung moved in a new direction with his exceptional Beyond Our Ken. When a teacher (Gillian Chung) finds out her ex-boyfriend has posted nude pictures of her online, she joins up with the man’s current fling (Tao Hong) to get the photos back. Built on a simple premise with delightful twists and turns, Pang’s movie reinvigorated youth-oriented filmmaking with a clever script and an exuberant pop sensibility. While Pang departed from black comedy with Beyond Our Ken, writer/actor Simon Loui gave the genre a successful shot with his first movie as director. Loui’s Escape from Hong Kong Island obliquely referenced social changes in a plot about an arrogant high-flyer (Jordan Chan) suddenly sacked and left with neither cash nor friends.
Johnnie To continued to wow cineastes with Breaking News and Throw Down. To’s Breaking News was a high concept piece of action cinema which centered on an aging block of flats where a gang of thieves are holed up. As gunfights erupt in the corridors of the building, the police and their targets engage the media in a game of wits. Throw Down threw Louis Koo and Aaron Kwok into a highly-stylised judo-themed affair that paid tribute to the work of Kurosawa Akira. Also directing offbeat fare was Gordon Chan, whose A-1 thriller had an intelligent script that wedded a murder mystery to a question about media ethics.
The action genre received a boost in quality. Benny Chan’s New Police Story was a particular success at the box office. Starring Jackie Chan, the movie revived the urban action levels of past Police Story movies while injecting younger talent like Nicolas Tse and Daniel Wu into the franchise. The Twins Effect II followed up the 2003 action smash hit The Twins Effect, reuniting singers Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi for more high-budget escapist adventure. Hong Kong-China co-production guidelines - no supernatural elements are allowed in China - meant that the vampires of the first film were replaced with gaudy martial arts scenes. Patrick Leung and Corey Yuen directed.
Sam Leong offered old school action in Explosive City, which starred Simon Yam, Alex Fong, Sonny Chiba and Hisako Shirata. Co-produced with Japanese investors, the movie attempted as much action as its limited budget could provide. It also captured superb performances from its leads. Wilson Yip gave swordplay a go with The White Dragon, blending a modern take on the genre’s style with a romantic plot, and Enter the Phoenix saw actor/director Stephen Fung craft a polished and lighthearted gangster flick that also benefited from impressive action work. Early in the year, Jingle Ma’s Silver Hawk, which starred Michelle Yeoh, dished up a fun serving of expensive action set in a sleek, futuristic world. It was met with indifference by local audiences.
Calmer works in the drama category included Butterfly, 2046, and Herbal Tea among the highlights. Yan Yan Mak’s accomplished Butterfly followed a married woman (Josie Ho) into a lesbian affair with a nightclub singer (Tian Yuan) while revisiting scenes of an earlier relationship in the late 1980s. The long-awaited 2046 finally reached theatres in 2004, transporting viewers back to the 1960s and forward to the future. Tony Leung Chiu-wai reprised his In the Mood for Love character alongside the likes of Faye Wong and Zhang Ziyi. Herman Yau successfully infused his Herbal Tea with a charming and unassuming local community snapshot centered on a Hollywood Road tea shop and its young manager (Candy Lo).
The animated Mcdull, Prince de la Bun took the story of the Hong Kong’s favourite piglet in new directions, broadening the scope to include his parents’ history. Firmly rooted in Hong Kong culture, the Toe Yuen-directed Mcdull set its story in an urban fantasy land of heritage sights and fairy tale backdrops. Johnnie To’s Yesterday Once More pitched in breezy humour and commercial excess while developing an intriguing romance tale with Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng. The high-budget Jiang Hu, from young director Wong Ching-po, cleverly developed a tale of gangland rivalries. But its visual overload turned audiences away. A surprising debut feature film came from Adam Wong, whose DV-shot When Beckham Met Owen recorded a delightful picture of early teenage life and a coming out experience. Visuals throughout Wong’s film were creative, and made full use of DV portability while never overwhelming the subtleties of the script and the performances.
Comedies offered a broad mix of entertainment, from all-out parody in Love Is a Many Stupid Thing to a rare local sci-fi entry in Hidden Heroes. Wong Jing returned to form with Love Is a Many Stupid Thing, swiping material from Infernal Affairs and reworking it into a police comedy. Hidden Heroes brought together Joe Ma and Soi Cheang as co-directors, and had Ronald Cheng playing an unlikely cop who meets a time-travelling robot (Charlene Choi). Herman Yau offered a minor screen gem in Papa Loves You, with Tony Leung Ka-fai playing an over-protective single parent mistaken as a legendary gangland figure by friends of his daughter (Charlene Choi again), and Wai Ka-fai’s Fantasia gave viewers an energetic throwback to 1970s and 1980s comedy classics.
Horror managed a few high-profile entries over 2004, starting with The Eye 2 directed by Danny and Oxide Pang. The name-only sequel to The Eye saw Shu Qi plagued with horrors after a failed suicide attempt. Fruit Chan’s Dumplings: Three... Extremes was part of the latest pan-Asian Three horror anthology installment, but also scored cinema release in a full-length cut. Based in part on real practices, the story saw a wealthy celebrity (Miriam Yeung) eating fetus dumplings in an unpleasant quest for eternal youth. The Oxide Pang-directed Ab-Normal Beauty also delved into horror territory with singers 2R (sisters Race and Rosanne Wong) in the lead. The pair laudably steered clear of their popular clean image with Ab-Normal Beauty, in which a student finds pleasure in photographing those on the verge of death.
Kung Fu Hustle’s success confirms the continued popularity of Stephen Chiau among Hong Kong actors. Beyond Chiau, Andy Lau remains one of the city’s top leading men. He was in top form on the home front as well as in the mainland-shot House of Flying Daggers and A World Without Thieves. Tony Leung Kar-fai had a busy year of lead and supporting performances, from a title character in Papa Loves You and the troubled journalist in Vincent Chui’s indie thriller Fear of Intimacy through to side roles in Dumplings, Throw Down and A-1. Lau Ching-wan also kept busy in his with pleasing comedies like Fantasia, James Yuen’s Driving Miss Wealthy and Joe Ma’s Three of a Kind. Alex Fong, too, had a good year with fine performances in One Nite in Mongkok and Explosive City.
Among the younger generation, Daniel Wu, Eason Chan and Andy Hui put in great work. Wu handled the difficult role of an illiterate mainland hick in One Nite in Mongkok with a warm, understated charm. Chan’s profile was raised with a fine performance in Enter the Phoenix and Love Battlefield, and he solidified his standing with James Yuen’s Crazy N’ the City in early 2005. Hui stood out in Barbara Wong’s Six Strong Guys with a performance that risked being overshadowed within the film’s ensemble cast. Ronald Cheng remained a force in comedy, bringing his haphazard style to Hidden Heroes and Super Model, and Aaron Kwok made comeback with action-oriented roles for Throw Down and Dante Lam’s Heat Team.
2004 saw Cecilia Cheung, Sammi Cheng and Miriam Yeung remain popular screen queens. Cheung’s One Nite in Mongkok performance lifted the movie significantly and other notable roles came in The White Dragon and Fantasia. Cheng’s output was limited with Magic Kitchen and Yesterday Once More but she remained a draw for audiences. Yeung continued as a favourite in comedies but also managed a respectable genre outing in Dumplings. The Twins singing team of Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi remain a major force among the younger ladies of Hong Kong cinema, with The Twins Effect II doing decent summer holiday business. Choi also handled a range of lightweight solo roles during the year while Chung displayed how far she’s matured as an actress with her breakthrough Beyond Our Ken performance.
More top-notch work came from Shu Qi, Niki Chow, Josie Ho and Angelica Lee. The Eye 2 saw Shu granted the bulk of the movie’s screen time - a task clearly left in capable hands. Chow’s Love Battlefield role was a standout, Ho’s leading role in Butterfly was her best yet and Angelica Lee scored strong parts in A-1, Law Chi-leung’s Koma and Sylvia Chang’s 20:30:40. 2004 saw a resurgence of several stars largely absent from movies in recent years. Kung Fu Hustle was celebrated for giving Yuen Qiu and Yuen Wah large roles, and Michael Hui, Jenny Hu and Suet Nei took on major parts as well. Hong Kong-China co-productions continued to involve talented mainland actors too, with 2004’s releases showcasing Tao Hong, Wang Zhiwen, Qin Hailu and Tian Yuan.
2005 had a rocky start despite Kung Fu Hustle’s continuing box office success. Though the highly entertaining Crazy N’ the City won strong recommendations in January, the subsequent Chinese New Year line-up of Wai Ka-fai’s Himalaya Singh and Jingle Ma’s Seoul Raiders didn’t excite local viewers. The failure of Ma’s movie to sustain large audiences despite an overseas location, slick action and a top flight cast, showed the challenge filmmakers face in creating work that will sustain viewer confidence in homegrown productions.