Film - "Made in Hong Kong" series, 2003

(adapted from archive.org's June 3, 2003 record of the Freer Gallery's film listings)

Eighth Annual Made in Hong Kong Film Festival

This festival is cosponsored with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. All films are in Cantonese with English subtitles. [Fulltime Killer and Days of Being Wild (and perhaps additional films) include additional languages. However, they were not noted as such on the website.]

Visible Secret
Friday, July 11, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Thursday, July 17, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
This chilling urban ghost story stars Eason Chan as Peter and Shu Qi as June, a mysterious woman whose visions and strange disappearances plunge Peter into a world in which fantasy and reality become increasingly confused. Transforming Hong Kong itself into an eerie night-world, famed director Ann Hui turns the horror genre into a haunting exploration of one man’s unraveling psyche. This program is a part of Art Night on the Mall.

July Rhapsody
Friday, July 18, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Sunday, July 20, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Outstanding acting performances highlight this romantic melodrama starring Jacky Cheung as a high school literature teacher facing a midlife crisis. When a precocious student (Karena Lam) reveals she has a crush on him, he finds himself torn between her and his often-absent wife (Anita Mui). Director Ann Hui’s subtle hand makes this a sophisticated love story suffused with poetry and longing.

Love Undercover
Friday, July 25, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Sunday, July 27, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Joe Ma’s fluffy comedy stars the irrepressible Miriam Yeung as a rookie cop considered expendable enough to go undercover in the Serious Crime Unit. Her assignment is to track a possibly dangerous gangster (Daniel Wu), but through a series of mixups, he falls in love with her in this light film from one of Hong Kong ’s leading comic directors.

Love on a Diet
Sunday, July 13, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Thursday, August 7, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
The creative team of Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai team up for this wacky romantic comedy about an overweight pair who fall in love while shedding pounds. Sammi Cheng plays Mini Mo , who has ballooned to three hundred pounds in a nonstop eating binge since her Japanese boyfriend left for America ten years ago. In a desperate attempt to get thin before his return, she turns to Fatso (Andy Lau), who agrees to embark on a weight-loss campaign with her. With its engaging stars and unabashedly goofy story, Love on a Diet is a comedic feast. This program is a part of Art Night on the Mall.

Fulltime Killer
Friday, August 1, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Friday, August 8, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Andy Lau stars as Tok, a movie-loving killer for hire in this sleek action film from Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai. On the trail of his archenemy, known only as O (Takashi Sorimachi), Tok plots elaborate schemes to get rid of him. A film buff's delight, Fulltime Killer is crammed with movie references and jaw-dropping action set pieces.

Tempting Heart
Friday, August 1, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Sunday, August 10, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Sylvia Chang directs and stars in this cleverly constructed romantic drama as a director working with a screenwriter (William So) on a movie about young love. They decide to mix fact with fiction by crafting a script about a love triangle, creating a movie-within-a-movie structure that allows Chang to explore the story from several angles, providing a fresh, new breed of cinematic love story.

Just One Look
Friday, August 8, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Friday, August 15, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Riley Yip’s coming-of-age story follows teenager Fan (Shawn Yu) and his buddy (Wong Yau-nam) as they pursue a pair of local girls (Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi, of the pop group Twins). Leisurely and wistful, this film beautifully evokes 1960s Hong Kong as seen through the eyes of a lovestruck, movie-mad teenager.

Days of Being Wild
Friday, August 15, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Sunday, August 17, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
This early film by Wong Kar-wai, director of In the Mood for Love, stars the late Leslie Cheung as York, an aimless young man in 1960 Hong Kong who discovers he was adopted and decides to search for his birth mother. Wong’s sumptuous visual style and passionate romanticism are everywhere evident in this powerfully acted, poetic fantasia of love and loss.

The Bride with White Hair
Friday, July 18, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Thursday, August 21, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Based on an ancient Chinese legend, this Romeo and Juliet tale from director Ronnie Yu blends breathtaking martial arts sequences with a sophisticated script. Leslie Cheung stars as a powerful swordsman, destined to become the ruler of eight martial arts clans, who falls in love with the lethal female assassin (Brigitte Lin) sent to kill him by a pair of evil Siamese twins bent on destroying the clans. A classic Hong Kong action extravaganza, this film is a dazzling visual experience.

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