Hong Kong Film Awards: Bodyguards, Assassins, Bishonen

The Hong Kong Film Awards which honor film productions from, you guessed it, Hong Kong were held this week. I preface this post that way because there are other major Asian awards, most notably the Golden Horse which includes all Chinese language cinema rather than just Hong Kong productions. The Golden Horse nominations are announced in the fall I believe and we may see some of the same films honored. The big winner for HK was the action extravaganza Bodyguards and Assassins (Shi Yue Wei Chang) which took home eight prizes including Best Picture. It was nominated for 19 awards. Can you imagine?! I am a sucker for movie advertisements that introduce the cast of characters and both the posters and the trailer here label their characters. Is the movie worthy of this major a statue grab? Readers who've seen it, speak up! The film apparently has a Canadian/UK distributor but nothing here in the US.

Four of many character posters for the film. The trailer (at about the 1:30 mark) gives you the full rundown of characters

The other major prize winner was the 1960s era family film Echoes of the Rainbow (Sui Yuet San Tau) Both films were large box office successes at home.

Picture: Bodyguards and Assassins
Director: Teddy Chen, Bodyguards and Assassins
Actor: Simon Yam, Echoes of the Rainbow
<--- Actress: Kara Hui, At the End of the Rainbow
This actress is also referred to in some reports as Wai Ying-Hung which makes things confusing. Hui plays the struggling mother of a young man accused of rape. This performance was a major comeback for the 50 year old actress, who first won the HK Film Award almost 30 years go. The performance has been a sweeper on the Asian awards circuit (this is her third major prize) so it's a pity that we don't get to see it here in the US.
Supporting Actor: Nicholas Tse, Bodyguards and Assassins
He plays "The Rickshaw Man"
Supporting Actress. Michelle Ye, Accident
New Director: Cheung King-wai, KJ
New Performer: Aarif Lee, Echoes of the Rainbow
(Pictured right, the new "it" boy I'm told. He also sings the film's winning theme song)
Asian Film: Departures
(This award honors Asian cinema produced outside of Hong Kong. Last year's Japanese Foreign Film Oscar winner took the prize)
Screenplay: Alex Law, Echoes of the Rainbow
Cinematography: Bodyguards and Assassins
Editing: Overheard
Costume Design: Bodyguards and Assassins
Art Direction: Bodyguards and Assassins
Action Choreography: Bodyguards and Assassins
Visual Effects: The Storm Warriors
Sound Effects: Red Cliff 2
Original Song: Echoes of the Rainbow
Original Score: Bodyguards and Assassins

Celebrity!
Awards shows, whether they take place in the Kodak Theater or all the way around the world, are often just as much about the red carpet and the celebrities walking them as whatever is being celebrating inside. I watched a bit of news coverage that I didn't understand and they were very excited about these two (pictured below). I approve.

Shu Qi and Chang Chen... sometimes referred to as Qi Shu and Zhang Chen

We don't get enough Asian films in the States but we have seen Chang Chen (Crouching Tiger, Happy Together, Red Cliff) and Qi Shu (So Close, The Transporter, New York I Love You) several times and I've even written about their onscreen partnership before. Their combined presence definitely sucks up the most coverage time from the entertainment news report I watched. I didn't realize they were a couple offscreen but if you've ever seen Hsiao-Hsien Hou's Three Times, you will most heartily approve.

It wasn't up for awards but as I was watching that same news bit online I couldn't help noticing that the young stars of Monga, Ethan Ruan and Mark Chao (who are very popular at the moment) were quite affectionate on the red carpet. Monga is another in a long long line of movies from all over the world in which young men form deep brotherly and eventually bloody bonds as they enter the gangster life. I'm not sure if there's a gay subplot but there's something going on between Ruan and Chao's characters. A bit of web searching led me to this unfortunate headline.

clockwise from top: Ruan and Chao at the HK Film Awards, on a talk
show promoting the film and onscreen in the drama Monga (2010)

Talk shows where male stars are asked to make out with each other? Nobody asked Heath and Jake to do this back in the day!

Here's the trailer to Monga which TFE reader Tony tells me I should look out for at the Golden Horse Awards this fall...