Hong Kong has one of the largest and most dynamic film industries in the world. The city is one of Asia-Pacific’s major centres for the production of film and television content and has captured a sizeable share of the regional market. In the West, Hong Kong's action cinema has long had a strong cult following, and its global icons like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Cherie Chung and even Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, who got her start on the island's film industry, are household names.
Here are five acclaimed movies set in Hong Kong that bring the city to life for its viewers.
This mystery thriller film follows the misfortunes and entanglements of an eccentric fortune teller (simply called “The Master”) with a psychopathic, cat-killing delivery boy, who is possessed with an irrepressible urge for homicide. The Master frantically tries to change the latter’s destiny while struggling to maintain his own sanity. Set in a surreal city of sex workers, mystics and psychopaths, “Mad Fate” is a crazed, morally complex addition to classic Cantonese noir. It is directed by Soi Cheang and stars Gordon Lam, Lokman Yeung (from the Cantopop boy band MIRROR), Berg Ng, Ng Wing-sze and Peter Chan. The film won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards.
“A Simple Life” is a drama directed by Ann Hui and stars Andy Lau and Deanie Ip in the lead roles. It follows the relationship between a middle-aged man and an elderly woman who has been the family’s helper for 60 years. Communication between the two is kept to short exchanges until Ip’s character suffers a stroke and Lau’s character realises that his “godmother” is slipping away. The emotional nuance of the film is brought to the fore by the enduring screen pairing of Ip and Lau, who have played the mother/son dynamic on numerous occasions. The film celebrates traditional Cantonese food with shots of meals being cooked and eaten throughout the film. The movie won five out of eight awards at the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards and bagged a number of trophies at the 68th Venice International Film Festival.
The first in the “Infernal Affairs” trilogy, this 2002 Hong Kong action thriller was directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak and starred Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng, and Kelly Chen. The film follows an undercover Hong Kong Police Force officer who infiltrates a triad and another police officer who is secretly a spy for the same organised syndicate. The impeccably crafted thriller makes gripping use of various locations in Hong Kong as the two conflicted adversaries circle one another en route to a climactic face-off. At the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards, “Infernal Affairs” won seven out of the 16 awards it was nominated for—including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Leung) and Best Supporting Actor (Wong).
This Cannes-award-winning film portrays a man (played by Tony Leung) and a woman (played by Maggie Cheung) in 1962 who slowly develop feelings for each other after their spouses have an affair. “In the Mood for Love” is a heartbreaking meditation on a romance that unfolds in the manner of fragmented memory. The conservative climate of 1960s Hong Kong is skillfully conveyed through camerawork that seems to be spying on its central almost-couple, often observing them from a distance or framing them in claustrophobic domestic spaces. The movie is the second part of an informal trilogy, alongside “Days of Being Wild” and “2046.” It won five out of 12 awards at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards, a César Award, two New York Film Critics Circle Awards and a British Independent Film Award, to name a few of its honours.
This classic Hong Kong action film starring Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh follows a professional assassin (Yun-fat) who accidentally damages the eyes of singer Jennie (Yeh) during a shootout and sets out to perform one last hit to pay for her treatment. While the movie was not an immediate success in Hong Kong, it received critical acclaim internationally with reviewers praising its action scenes and over-the-top style. It has been a strong influence on many directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Johnnie To. Today, “The Killer” has come to be considered one of the greatest action films ever made. It won Best Director (John Woo) and Best Film Editing at the 9th Hong Kong Film Awards.