SYNOPSIS:
Poon Ka Fai had reached the summit of his career in his 20s
– he was awarded the best new male actor academy award.
He was regarded highly by the TV station but he did not treasure
the opportunity. He became more and more fastidious and often
criticized other people. As a result, Fai’s career and
popularity declined and gradually he dropped from the main
cast to minor roles. Finally, the TV station decided not to
employ him. Fai was very depressed until he met Ng Hiu Fei,
a girl who was very devoted to acting.
Fei
was willing to try and take up every opportunity and she was
not afraid of hardship. She devoted all her efforts in every
acting opportunity such as a stand-in with no show of her
face and no dialogue. Fei’s determination and devotion
moved Fai. He decided to teach her his secret acting techniques.
Fai became Fei’s manager and teacher. Fai was influenced
by Fei and had rebuild his devotion for acting, by which he
marketed himself to film directors for taking a role in their
films.
When
Fai realized he fell in love with Fei, Fei has to leave Fai
to go to Japan to start her journey to a superstar…
MOVIE
REVIEW
Hong
Kong cinema is constantly surprising movie-goers with gems.
From smart scripting and snazzy visuals to remarkable directing
and astonishing performances, films from Hong Kong are always
worth looking out for.
Here
is another production which never made it to the local big
screens in Singapore. But it is such a joy to watch this Lawrence
Lau-directed movie; we are giving it two thumbs up, even if
it means having to watch it on the computer or television
screen at home.
The
story is a cheeky lampoon of today’s movie industry.
An out-of-luck actor loses his place in the limelight after
winning a best Newcomer Award and starring in several television
serials. His arrogant personality does not help to improve
things a lot.
Along
comes an idealistic young actress who will do almost everything
to get into the industry. Before long, the depressed actor
becomes her manager and teacher, helping her achieve her dreams
of becoming a star.
The
two-paragraph synopsis sounds like a potential warm and fuzzy
tearjerker which viewers can expect many inspiring scenes
involving stirring dialogue and bucketfuls of tears of hardship.
But
no, the approach to making this 94-minute a very engaging
watch is uniquely fun. You know this when you see actors and
directors like Ekin Cheng, Tony Leung, Fruit Chan and Ann
Hui popping up in cameo roles as themselves throughout the
movie. They poke fun at themselves being part and parcel of
the cruel industry, where luck is sometimes favoured more
than hard work and perseverance.
And
if you are a fan of Hong Kong cinema, you’d have a fun
time spotting in-jokes made about Wong Kar Wai’s In
The Mood For Love (2000) and Derek Yee’s One Night in
Mongkok (2004).
The
movie is not without a message amidst all the fun and namedropping.
Themes of determination, humility and love are nicely developed
between the two main leads played by the reliable Lau Ching
Wan (who unfortunately hasn’t won a single Hong Kong
Film Award to date) and the likeable newcomer Huo Siyan (whom
we would love to see garnering at least a Best Newcomer nomination
at the next Hong Kong Film Awards).
Interestingly,
you’d also get to see an award trophy (as a prop) and
an award presentation ceremony (as the movie’s fitting
finale) in the movie.
Watching
the interaction between the veteran actor and the newbie actress
is an enjoyable experience, especially during scenes where
he teaches her how to act like a real pro. While some may
accuse these segments as conveniently tear-inducing, they
add some sentimental soft touches to the movie.
We
would also like to commend the distributor for having two
audio tracks on the disc. Viewers can choose to watch the
movie in Mandarin or Cantonese, and we’d definitely
recommend the latter.
It
makes the whole Hong Kong cinema watching experience more
complete.
MOVIE RATING:
Review
by John Li
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