Archive - 7th Five Flavours Film Festival
Isabella
Awards and festivals
Film description
An early film by the director of "Vulgaria", made under the influence of the radiant style of Wong Kar-wai and his set designer, William Cheng.
It is set in Makau, a Portuguese colony with a bad reputation, just before its takeover by China. The image of the city is dominated by greens and amber yellows. The colonial architecture, with picturesque damp patches, slowly falling apart in the monsoon climate, is the background for obscure dealings, gambling, and love affairs.
It is hard to play innocent in such scenery – the silent, 18 year-old orphan is surely not trying to. She sits around in night clubs, looking for the father she has never met. Allegedly, it is the dodgy cop, who once flew away from responsibility and never settled down. The determined girl will bring back his memories and push him in a direction he himself would never choose. The father is played by the director’s favorite actor, Chapman To, and the daughter by a star of Cantopop, Isabella Leong. In the finale, Fado will play and tears will trickle down on a shirt.
Agnieszka Szeffel
Pang Ho-cheung
Born in 1973, Hong Kong. Novelist, playwright, actor and director. He started making films as a teenager, and shot almost a dozen since, receiving numerous awards. He studied in Taiwan, now works for the television, and writes for the radio and newspapers. A movie based on his novel "Fulltime Killer" was directed by Johnnie To.
2001 Maai hung paak yan / You Shoot, I Shoot
2004 Gung ju fuk sau gei / Beyond Our Ken
2007 Cheut ai kup gei / Exodus
2010 Podmuch miłości / Tan Lian Ai / Love in a Puff
2012 Vulgaria / Dai juk hei kek / Vulgaria