父子 | After This Our Exile

the hopeless pursuit of happiness, Aaron Kwok stars as Shing, a man who desperately attempts to hold onto the dwindling threads of his family. Once a man who had a dream, Shing has become a deadbeat gambler whose marriage is failing with wife Lin. Shing’s machoistic ego overrides any reasonable logic for change, which forces Lin to leave Shing repeatedly. After finally managing to escape, Shing is left with nothing but his son, Lok-Yun. Hoping in vain to pay back loansharks, Shing turns to his loving son, Lok-Yun, who has somehow retained his filial loyalty. In his most desperate hour, Shing forces his struggle of survival onto his son, Lok-Yun, through thievery and tests the strength of loyalty and the boundaries of trust in their father-son relationship. With each passing day, the bond of love is threatened with Shing’s unrepentant ways.

Directed by Patrick Tam | Starring : Aaron Kwok, Charlie Yeung, Kelly Lin, King-to Ng, Valen Hsu | Presented at Pusan Film Festival, Rome Film Festival, Tokyo Film Festival, Marrakech Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival

杀手蝴蝶梦 | My Heart Is That Eternal Rose

Rick and Lap are star-crossed lovers whose initial romance was torn apart by the murder of her father. Years later, they meet once more, but circumstances have changed. Rick is now a suave hitman for hire, while Lap is the girlfriend of powerful crime boss Shen. The years and distance have taken their toll on the lovers, but their passion still burns, drawing the two back together. Their treachery does not escape the notice of Shen, nor Shen’s right-hand man, played by Shaw Brothers legend Gordon Liu. Rick and Lap’s only ally may be Cheung, a mousy triad who carries his own torch for Lap. With few options left to the lovers, and with Shen in hot pursuit, the stage is set for a violent, blood-drenched finale…

Directed by Patrick Tam | Starring : Kenny Bee, Joey Wang, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wai-Man Chan, Chia Hui Liu | Presented at N/A

最后胜利 | Final Victory

Patrick Tam, director of the award-winning After This Our Exile, first made his name for creating artistically acclaimed movies with his daring 1982 work Nomad. His 1987 movie Final Victory is definitely worth re-visiting. Internationally renowned director Wong Kar Wai, yet to make his directorial debut at the time, co-wrote the script of Final Victory with Patrick Tam and Winnie Yu. Also a Hong Kong New Wave director, Tsui Hark stepped down from his director’s chair to take up the male lead alongside Eric Tsang, now one of the most representative actors in Hong Kong, and sexy actress Loletta Lee. Eric Tsang stars as the shy and timid Hung who has to choose between brotherhood and love. Tsui Hark portrays triad gangster Bo, who asks Hung, his younger sworn brother, to take care of his two mistresses, Ping and Mimi. But Hung soon falls in love with Mimi, and he realizes that their romance, if known to Bo, will end their brotherhood which he also treasures.

Directed by Patrick Tam | Starring : Eric Tsang, Loletta Lee, Tien-Lang Li, Hark Tsui, Lui Kam | Presented at N/A

烈火青春 | Nomad

Louis  is a lovely young man from a rich family and misses his ‘passed-away’ mother very much. He has a good friendship with his cousin Kathy. Louis and Kathy later meet Tomato, who becomes Louis’ girlfriend, and Pong, who becomes Kathy’s boyfriend. The four live a casual life together, hang out aimlessly, and share their dreams and difficulties with one another on frequent trips to Hong Kong’s outlying islands. But Kathy’s past returns to haunt her. She once lived in Japan, and had romance with Shinsuke Takeda, a Japanese who is the member of Japanese Red Army. Shinsuke Takeda is bored of the life as a Red Army member and wants to quit the organization. This leads to a vow of revenge by the organization and Shinsuke Takeda runs to Kathy to ask for help. However, he was eventually found by the killers dispatched by the Red Army and both Kathy and Shinsuke are killed, while Louis and Tomato, who is pregnant with Louis’s kid, survive the crisis.

Directed by Patrick Tam | Starring : Leslie Cheung, Cecilia Yip, Pat Ha, Ken Tong, Sai-Kit Yung | Presented at Hong Kong Film Festival

爱杀 | Love Massacre

Set in a surprisingly minimalist San Francisco, Patrick Tam’s stylish slasher movie manages to evoke both Antonioni and Mario Bava in this tale of a ravishing young co-ed whose studly boyfriend turns into a demented stalker after the suicide of his sister.

Directed by Patrick Tam | Starring : Brigitte Lin, Kuo-Chu Chang, Charlie Chin, Tina Lau, Deannie Yip | Presented at N/A