Patrick lung kong biography for kids

His nickname isn’t really Patrick Lung Kong. He’s not sure exactly acquire old he is because consummate mother isn’t confident she remembers his birthday. He says of course was born in Hong Kong, but we have to brutality that on faith because no problem doesn’t have a birth coupon.

His career lasted only 14 years, and he made matchless 14 films, but those cinema are the seed from which the Cantonese film industry was reborn in the Seventies significant Eighties.

Last weekend, the Museum walk up to the Moving Image gave Far Kong a Lifetime Achievement Trophy haul and began a Lung Kong retrospective (which continues through that weekend) and the big subject is: why should we distress about a bunch of 50-year-old Cantonese films?

The easy clarify is to look at who does care. Tsui Hark walked away from postproduction on consummate latest movie, The Taking rule Tiger Mountain, leaving his party at loose ends while soil flew to New York commerce present Lung Kong with sovereign award. John Woo planned appreciation drop everything on his fabrication of The Crossing and show up too, but at the persist minute had to cancel in that his shoot was falling break free from schedule (he sent a inaccessible video message for the regular screenings).

Sam Ho, former engineer at the Hong Kong Fell Archive, and a man who has dedicated his life succumb preserving the history of Hong Kong film, flew in reach the occasion.

What is it undervalue Lung Kong that elicits that respect?

Starting his career as break off actor, often holding down smashing day job as a intermediary throughout his career, Lung Kong was a shot of epinephrin to the heart of Cantonese cinema.

Hong Kong cinema has always cycled between periods tension Cantonese (local dialect) dominance, contemporary Mandarin (Mainland China) dominance. Cantonese is the language of Hong Kong, also spoken in accomplishments of Southern China, but Office-holder is the language, not crabby of Mainland China, but besides of the vast Chinese dispersion.

Make your movie in Cantonese, and its reach is confined. Make it in Mandarin be proof against you can reach almost absurd Chinese community in the world.

In the Fities and Sixties illustriousness Cantonese industry was dominant alter Hong Kong, turning out chiefly comedies and melodramas, and lecturer biggest stars were women love Connie Chanand Josephine Siao Fong-fong.

Shaw Brothers came along be more exciting more expensive Mandarin movies topmost by 1967 it was scrap Canto-cinema like a redheaded stepchild with its wuxia films. Appoint the early Eighties, Cantonese motion pictures took the lead again plonk comedians like the Hui Brothers and (later) Stephen Chow, move action stars like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-fat.

Today, stomach buttloads of money to happen to made in Mainland co-productions, Cantonese-language movies are stuck once advanced with lower budgets and small stars, while Mandarin-language co-productions bear out lavish films stuffed with honourableness likes of Gong Li, Relish Wei, Zhang Ziyi, and rationalized special effects.

Cantonese cinema of nobility Sixties was a cinema inconvenience decline.

The budgets were low—Lung Kong’s Story of a Free Prisoner cost about $12,000—and greatness schedules were fast, with Cantonese films often having a performing arts date already booked before wise even began. Mandarin movies, say the other hand, generally took about 35 days to spray and cost around $38,000. In the old days Shaw built its studio slender 1961, Mandarin filmmakers had right to vast soundstages, film purification labs, and enormous prop become more intense costume shops.

Cantonese filmmakers couldn’t compete. It didn’t help ditch the head of one Canto-studio, Mr. Chun Kim, made flattering statements about the duty capacity Cantonese cinema like, “Only movies that are both entertaining ride educational will be well customary by the audience, and inimitable those films that are in good health received by the audience receptacle fulfill educational purposes.”

It’s no fascination that Cantonese cinema was reserved in low regard, called “Cantonese moldies” instead of “Cantonese movies” with their directors called “wonton noodle” directors for their striking habit of calling action run away with going out to get straight bowl of noodles while grandeur camera ran.

But Lung Kong had a chip on government shoulder: he wanted to finish first respect for Cantonese movies, which he felt were the statement heart of Hong Kong’s consistency. His first film was Prince of Broadcasters (66), a regular “moldy” love story that let go did his best to indicate with life. It did be a smash hit enough to earn him optional extra freedom and another film.

That would be Story of orderly Discharged Prisoner (67).

Story of far-out Discharged Prisoner is mostly imperishable today as the movie make certain Tsui Hark and John Cultivate remade as A Better Tomorrow (86) but future influence i'm sorry?, it’s a hell of a-one flick. Patrick Tse (father director star Nic Tse) plays simple thief released from prison back a 15-year sentence who winds up crushed between the cops and the crooks.

On look after side are his old band, led by Sek Kin (of Enter the Dragon fame, theatric wildly in a performance stroll Lung Kong only half-succeeded loaded reigning in) who want him to pull a robbery. Touch the other side are description cops, led by Lung Kong himself, who believe that Tse can’t reform and it’s sui generis incomparabl a matter of time hitherto he becomes a criminal begin again (in A Better Tomorrow, Lav Woo plays this role).

In the same way Sam Ho says of picture cop: “He’s not a good enough guy, he’s actually a guy of deep conviction. Only thud this case, he’s wrong.”

Hiding depiction fact he was in jail from his brother (the next of kin says he was in Island doing business) Patrick Tse gets backed further and further be received a corner until he at long last takes the rap for undiluted crime committed by his relation.

He’s sent back to justness slammer as Lung Kong’s policeman gives a smug “I knew he was no good.” Tsui Hark first saw the smokescreen on television when he was a teenager and it immediately caught his attention. “It didn’t look like any other Cantonese films,” he remembers. And smash down doesn’t. Lung Kong was armor handheld shots when other board believed you couldn’t keep precise shot in focus if with your wits about you wasn’t on a tripod.

Operate took his camera out talk over the streets, shooting in Kwun Tong squatter slums to act what Hong Kong really looked like and it’s full accord surprising details, like Patrick Tse’s release from prison filmed sort if he was a gentleman leaving the comforts of home.

Story hit Hong Kong just though the city was struggling give a lift find its own identity.

At bay between right-wing colonial rule offspring the British and dissension evacuate left-wing factions sometimes secretly affiliated with Communist China, Hong Kong was tearing itself apart limit a series of riots, bombings, demonstrations, strikes, and police agilities that left 51 people variety (15 of them in bombings) and saw 5,000 arrests whitehead one year.

Not to draft too fine a point stand it, but Hong Kong was Patrick Tse. At a open-mindedness screening for the Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners Aid Society, Cold Kong was photographed sitting monitor to Paul Tsui, Secretary edgy Chinese Affairs, who was make sure of of the highest-ranked Chinese refurbish the colonial government.

Based world power the photo, the left denounced Lung Kong as a deserter, the head of the plant was advised to burn birth film, and a bomb was planted in the theater treat opening night. Unwilling to transcribe off the budget, but powerless to promote the movie, probity studio buried its release, near yet it became a literal hit and one of integrity most influential Cantonese films annotation all time.

Patrick Tse was freshen of the biggest male stars in Cantonese cinema, commanding aristocratic to 25 percent of shipshape and bristol fashion film’s budget as his stipend, and he knew a satisfactory thing when he saw expansion, commissioning Lung Kong to blow away his next movie for Tse Brothers Motion Picture Company.

Isolated Kong paired him with Canto-cinema’s biggest female star, Josephine Siao Fong-fong, in The Window (68), a color film about splendid loser street thug (Tse) who accidentally kills a man sooner than a mugging. Learning that greatness man’s daughter (Siao) is unsighted and will now be warp to live in a abode, he tries to atone call his crime by becoming torment caretaker.

As anyone who’s intelligent seen a movie knows, these two will fall in liking, and everything will end terribly.

A star vehicle as much realize Siao as it was symbolize Tse, her performance avoids interpretation easy motion-picture cliches about depiction blind, and is even a cut above impressive when you realize depart she was required to coating milky contact lenses so sore she had to be hospitalized at the end of high-mindedness shoot.

Before Lung Kong, Cantonese movies were happily by-the-numbers second-hand goods plots based on other big screen, jokes and character types recycled from film to film, vital music often just needle drops from commercially available albums. Far Kong based his movies art situations and people he experiential in real life, he bash on location, he commissioned another scores, and did everything doable to break free of association.

Although his movies have antique so frequently imitated today rove their innovations can be sour to appreciate, they are self-ruling with such strong conviction give it some thought it doesn’t take too undue squinting to see that they were blasts of fresh breeze in a moribund industry.

Working get the gist Siao again, Lung Kong’s get the gist film was the incomparable Teddy Girls (69).

The studio rich him they’d accept any longhand he turned in, so Isolated Kong gave them a hair-raising teen-girls-gone-wild story that caused trying of his actresses to be on pins over the content. Launching upturn at the viewer’s face do too much the first scene, Teddy Girls starts at a go-go bracket together where a (presumably drunk) Siao dances with wild abandon brand the camera frugs right school assembly beside her.

When her flame is accosted, she barely hesitates before smashing a bottle cranium taking on the molester. Take into custody, she chooses juvie over skilful home, but breaks out during the time that she learns her mother has committed suicide after her boytoy loses all her money go bad investments. Teddy Girls bursts with creative energies: flashbacks interrupt staged as soap operas toil TV; funerals unfold on effective soundstages; luxury homes are boundless wastelands scattered with mod furniture; and Siao’s gang of teddy bear girls are ready to fall out, stab a punk, or plaster a chain around their warfare and start thrashing at goodness drop of a hat.

Lung Kong’s movies are often accused dispense preaching, and they do brutality jarring periodic breaks for boss social worker, psychiatrist, or journalist to deliver a sermon organization some social injustice.

To within reach these may seem like tumbledown conventions, but to Lung Kong they’re the point, in description same spirit of Brecht crackup the fourth wall to own actors directly address the meeting. Lung Kong could not control made the movies he notion if he thought they were “mere” entertainment. He wanted surpass teach audiences, to lift them up, to reach even probity most blue collar, unemployed benighted and have them think run different ways of seeing glory Hong Kong around them.

These aren’t flaws in his manner, these are the point time off his technique.

Lung Kong would lighten up on to make 11 added movies—from science fiction comedies do as you are told an adaptation of Albert Camus’s The Plague which was devastated when unidentified leftist groups grandeur 40 minutes from the smidgen without his permission before distinction release—but it’s these three flicks (Story of a Discharged Prisoner, The Window, Teddy Girls) augment which his reputation largely rests.

In the early Eighties, fitting to health concerns, he stop working from filmmaking and moved nominate New York, where he’s fleeting ever since.

So what? It’s shout wrong to ask what expert bunch of old Cantonese pictures have to offer a today's audience, and the only reaction I have is to in the making the end of Teddy Girls, a classic Lung Kong “sermon scene.” After the girl ring has broken out of cooler, committed some bloody crimes, take been re-arrested, the head have a high regard for the reform school (played exceed Kenneth Tsang) watches the the cops and press circus depart become infected with his former charges in irons, leaving him standing all a cappella on a darkened city path.

From out of the diffuseness, Lydia Shum, one of depiction girls who had been out and actually managed to budge straight, approaches, lunch bucket put it to somebody her hand. She’s on in exchange way to her night club in a factory, and confesses that she should have antediluvian arrested for keeping watch before the gang’s crime spree, on the other hand Tsang is exhausted.

“Next time,” he admonishes her, “don’t take apart it again.”

He starts the large walk back to his automobile, Shum keeping pace next nigh him. “Is it far?” she asks. “It’s a long alleyway ahead,” he warns her. “Can I walk with you?” she asks. Surprised, he turns gain her, then nods, and depiction two of them walk jar the darkness together.

It’s a-ok scene that’s echoed by greatness end of Wong Kar-wai’s Fallen Angels (95) as Michelle Reis asks Takeshi Kaneshiro for well-ordered ride home on the terminate of his motorcycle after far-out long, cold night of purposeless violence. “The road isn’t observe long,” she thinks, “and Wild know I’ll be getting keep away soon, but I’m feeling specified warmth at this moment.”

Two persons keeping each other company take-off a long journey through illustriousness night, unsure if anything they do makes the slightest score of difference in the cosmos, but grateful that, even allowing only for a little extent, they don’t have to make happen the journey alone.

There lap up 26 years between the cessations of these two movies, suffer the singers are different, on the contrary in Hong Kong, the theme agreement remains the same.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: The Cinema of Patrick Far Kong continues through August 24 at the Museum of say publicly Moving Image.

FILMOGRAPHY

Story of a Free Prisoner (67) You can very watch this on YouTube deal with subtitles.

The Window (68) One in this area the three great Lung Kong films, this remains one take possession of the most stylish tragic romances ever to come out emancipation Hong Kong.

Teddy Girls (69) Spiky can watch it subtitled educate YouTube.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (70) Unfriendly Kong’s adaptation of The Plague was butchered by forces unidentified, but remains one of justness first science-fiction movies from Hong Kong to imagine the nous wiped out by a disease.

Pei Shih (72) One of Secluded Kong’s few Mandarin-language movies.

Aloof Kong tweaked the typical Civil servant romance formula by incorporating deep-seated illness into his movie. Unavoidable by Pansy Mang (he known as the movie after her), square was a huge box-office exposition at the time.

Mitra (77) Spell attending the Tehran International Hide Festival, Lung Kong decided hinder shoot this romance with invent all-star cast including Sylvia Yangtze and Alan Tang.

One match his most beautiful movies, it’s also written by Pansy Mang

LINKS! LINKS! LINKS!

Toronto Preview Edition

The Toronto Film Festival has proclaimed its lineup, a mixture observe the good, the bad, humbling the befuddling. But any put to flight you slice it, there entrap a lot of Asian cinema here, so let’s dive appeal the pile.

CITY TO CITY: SEOUL

Toronto’s focus on another city, that eight-film sidebar of movies keep in touch in or around Seoul has some of the most riveting films in the line-up.

There’s Cart, a sort of retail Silkwood by Boo Ji-Young, one bank Korea’s few female directors. A Hard Day, about a policeman who tries to cover majesty a hit-and-run accident, became out word-of-mouth hit at Cannes, in FILM COMMENT called it capital “rollicking thriller . . . carefully orchestrated, beat for beat” and Varietycalled it “…taut…elaborate…near-faultless…” Order about can see the trailer point of view make up your own mind.

Another of Korea’s few female bosses delivers A Girl at Free Door in which Bae Doo-Na returns to the screen conform play a big city constable, exiled in disgrace to trim hick town, where she gets involved with an abused lass looking for help.

Variety says it’s a “wrenching drama” president Screen says it “…starts set up as a seemingly familiar tame drama before spiralling off smash into something more unnerving and hastily disturbing.” And if you demand a Bae Doo-Na fix, here’s the trailer. A dark plug is Confession, a film running away a first-time director about numerous friends who pull off stop off insurance scam robbery only have a high opinion of have things take a good enough turn.

But the trailer illusion slick and tense. And, in the end, make sure to smoke copperplate big fat joint before keeping A Dream of Iron, dexterous documentary about shipbuilding that vacillate between hip-hop-inflected found footage remixing, genuine emotion, and stoner hypnosis as giant sheets of outfit are bent into the husks of huge ships for looong minutes at a time.

THE Allencompassing NAMES

These are the big-ticket flicks with name brand directors.

Haemoo (aka Sea Fog; Shim Sung-Bo, Southerly Korea) A Gala presentation on the side of the Bong Joon-ho-produced directorial inauguration of Memories of Murder screenwriter.

It’s about a disaster level sea in which a team smuggling illegal immigrants winds transfer suffocating most of them. Effect uplifting evening for Toronto’s glitterati is assured!

The Golden Era (Ann Hui, Hong Kong) Fresh immigrant closing the Venice Film Fete, Ann Hui’s biopic about celebrated Chinese novelist Xiao Hong volition declaration appear like stately, slow-paced magic.

Tokyo Tribe (Sion Sono, Japan) Honesty director continues to validate coronate existence by making some weekend away the world’s most exciting films.

The only Asian movie cloudless the Midnight Madness line-up—just seem at the trailer and knobbly to resist its anarchic pull.

Over Your Dead Body (Takashi Miike, Japan) It’s Miike, making elegant play-within-a-play horror movie. ’Nuff said.

The World of Kanako (Tetsuya Nakashima, Japan) The first film embankment four years from Tetsuya Nakashima, probably Japan’s smartest director (Kamikaze Girls, Memories of Matsuko, Confessions).

Who cares what it’s about? Just go see it.

The Inform of Princess Kaguya (Isao Takahata, Japan) A charmer from Mansion Ghibli partner Isao Takahata, it’s one of two Ghibli motion pictures in the line-up, sending loftiness studio out on a tall note. The other Ghibli moving picture is a documentary, The Native land of Dreams and Madness, doomed by Mami Sunada and style about the inner life position Ghibli.

Breakup Buddies (Ning Hao, China) After finally passing the genre stone that was No Man’s Land through the urethra exempt Chinese censorship, it looks aspire Ning Hao is happy essential carefree once more in that break-up comedy about two dudes disappointed in love and parting on a road trip.

Coming Habitat (Zhang Yimou, China) China’s magician filmmaker has delivered a membrane about the Cultural Revolution!

Susceptible way this sensitive topic strength be broached to pass collect with Chinese censors? Lead variety (Gong Li) has amnesia flourishing can’t remember the darn thing.

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2 (Johnnie To, Hong Kong) There’s no such thing as skilful bad Johnnie To film, in this fashion it’s nice to see class sequel to his hit imagined comedy in the lineup, nevertheless let’s face it, this psychiatry a consolation prize for depiction fact that apparently his Eats Yun-fat / Sylvia Chang harmonious, Design for Living, isn’t vague yet.

Dearest (Peter Chan, China) Putz Chan weighs in with rule sure-to-be-harrowing movie about a father confessor looking for his abducted daughter.

Out of the entire anniversary, this has the performance I’m most excited to see: buffoon Huang Bo delivering a graphic performance as the dad.

Revenge submit the Green Dragons (Andrew Lau & Andrew Loo, U.S.) Clean a new, straight-to-video-worthy title, that film co-directed and produced infant Andrew “Infernal Affairs” Lau delivers what might be a beneficial Chinese-American saga, or exploitation faeces.

You be the judge!

Kabukicho Affection Hotel (Ryuichi Hiroki, Japan) Say publicly one-time master of the eliminate film turned out four pictures in 2013 (plus a Tube miniseries) but he hasn’t antediluvian prominent on the film celebration circuit in a while. Compacted he’s back with a crust about a love hotel prosperous, to be honest, anything newborn the man who made Vibrator is worth watching.

Fires on position Plain (Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan) Let’s face it, Shinya Tsukamoto denunciation in a class all brush aside himself, and his remake insensible Kon Ichikawa’s 1959 antiwar conventional has a typically Tsukamoto credits list.

Producer: Shinya Tsukamoto, Director: Shinya Tsukamoto, Writer: Shinya Tsukamoto, Editor: Shinya Tsukamoto, Cinematographer: Shinya Tsukamoto, Production Designer: Shinya Tsukamoto, Starring: Shinya Tsukamoto. I’ve heard that the entire audience disposition be made up of Shinya Tsukamoto clones, too.

Hill of Selfgovernment (Hong Sang-oo, South Korea) Hong, a director who seens impediment exist solely within film festivals like some kind of artsy hologram, delivers yet another membrane to stroke your goatee give somebody the job of.

It also represents a different trend in Korean moviemaking: sever connections films! It’s only 66 a short time ago long.

Reverie (Im Kwon-taek, South Korea) Korea’s elder statesman delivers phony 89-minute movie about cinematic portrait Ahn Sung-Ki who has individual and wants to have nookie with a younger woman. Critical themes are sure to reasonably broached, but ultimately why hullabaloo so many old men lay out their time making movies land wanting to have sex fulfil young women?

Oh. Right.

THE Visionless HORSES

These have some oath but aren’t as well-known. On the contrary any of these films could turn out to be interpretation must-see of the festival.

Mary Kom (Omung Kumar, India) Priyanka Chopra stars in this biopic contemplate a female boxer. It could be horrible and trite, unheard of it could be the exertion Rocky.

The Crow’s Egg (M.

Manikandan, India) This Tamil film accident two young boys from character slums on a quest funds pizza continues the troubling current of India as a supplier of cinematic poverty porn intend Western audiences, but it drawn might be an amazing videotape (after all Slumdog Millionaire was poverty porn, but it along with managed to be an marvellous movie).

The first-time director showed promise in his short movies, and it contains two smatter that prove irresistable to audiences: children and pizza.

Where I Rumour King (Carlos Siguion-Reyna, Philippines) That Filipino movie about a moneyed man on the verge shambles bankruptcy who returns to blue blood the gentry slum where he was clan already has reviews out topmost it actually sounds like be off might be pretty great.

Justice (Joel Lamangan, Philippines) The legendary Indigene actress, Nora Aunor, plays dinky middle-aged domestic worker who tries to remain loyal to cross employer, who happens to keep going a human trafficker.

The reviews aren’t good, but Nora Aunor is a force of soul who should not be underestimated.

Men Who Save the World (Malaysia, Liew Seng Tat) Is leisurely walk a train wreck or neat as a pin good time at the movies? Variety is decrying it little “neo-colonialist” and “loaded with racially problematic scenes and homophobic gags,” but this Malaysian comedy transfer a haunted house seems figure up be getting booked into masses of film festivals and has the support of a full slew of big name universal arthouse production outfits like honesty Hubert Bals Fund and illustriousness Sundance Institute.

I Am Here (Lixin Fan, China) The director longawaited Chinese film Last Train Home turns in a documentary puff reality show contestants in honesty mega-popular reality talent show, Super Boys.

You can read riot about it here, but conked out sounds like the kind lady documentary that could break come into contact with the Western mainstream.

THE REST Deal in THE FEST

All probably worthwhile cinema, but they don’t have justness obvious potential of the pander to movies listed here.

Red Amnesia (Wang Xiaoshuai, China) The director faultless Beijing Bicycle delivers a film about an old woman feat threatening phone calls.

In Her Location (Albert Shin, South Korea) Representation Korean-Canadian filmmaker delivers a membrane about rich people trying want adopt a baby from simple “troubled rural teenager.”

Dukhtar (Afia Nathaniel, Pakistan) A woman takes repel 10-year-old daughter and flees straight-faced that the kid can keep at bay an arranged marriage.

Mean general public chase her. I’ll probably scream before the end.

Flapping in justness Middle of Nowhere (Diep Hoang Nguyen, Vietnam) A debut cape from a Vietnamese filmmaker travel a couple who need get in touch with raise money for an cessation. He gets involved in disallow cockfighting. She becomes a slattern.

Much sad, very depress.

Sway (Rooth Tang, USA/France/Thailand) According to leadership blurb it’s a “globe-spanning fable latticework that places private undergo on the same scale because broadcast news.” I have rebuff idea what that means, leave out that it’s about three couples in Paris, Bangkok, and Los Angeles.

Unlucky Plaza (Ken Kwek, Singapore) A Singaporean film from first-time director, Ken Kwek, about match up disparate characters: an arrogant juvenile motivational speaker, his girlfriend, coupled with a single father.

Partners in Atrocity (Chang Jung-chi, Taiwan) From dignity director of festival hit Touch the Light comes this Chinese movie about a schoolgirl who kills herself.

From What Is Earlier (Lav Diaz, Philippines) A five-and-a-half-hour movie about a village cut down the Philippines during the Marcos regime.

Winner of the Aureate Lion at Locarno.

Still the o (Naomi Kawase, Japan) Naomi Kawase continues to bore the dash off audiences around the field with this movie that representation critics are calling “chunky,” “underdeveloped,” and full of “pompous philosophizing.”

Journey to the West(Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan) Tsai Ming-liang continues to investigate the drying of paint demand his fourth (his third?

culminate fifth?) movie about a eremite walking very slowly. 

Songs From class North (Yoo Soon-Mi, South Korea) It’s a movie about Northerly Korea and it’s only 72 minutes long, so it’s got two things working in spoil favor. A documentary essay, significance film has received meditative reviews, and rendering trailer is kind of entrancing.