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The almost unimaginable grief of a husband and father is chronicled in “Papa,” an affecting drama based on the true story of a 15-year-old boy whose murder of his mother and sister shocked Hong Kong in 2010. Featuring an outstanding lead performance by Sean Lau, “Papa” is played in a low key that produces high emotional impact — giving great depth and complexity to its protagonist’s unwavering determination to still love his son and understand what caused this tragedy. With expert tonal control over a non-linear screenplay that follows the aftermath of the crime and examines the love story that brought this family into being, writer-director Philip Yung’s delicately crafted film should find a large and appreciative audience when it opens in Hong Kong on December 5, following its world premiere in competition at Tokyo.

A big change of pace from the flashy-trashy glitz of his fact-based 2022 cops-‘n’-triads saga “Where the Wind Blows,...

Hong Kong film critic turned director Philip Yung’s latest feature begins with a harrowing crime committed by an unlikely culprit: One night, without any prior warning or explanation, a troubled 15-year-old boy named Ming (Dylan So) picks up a meat cleaver in the kitchen and then proceeds to murder his mother and sister in cold blood.

Yung explores the before and after of that shocking event through the eyes of Ming’s father, Yuen (Sean Lau), who tries to piece his life back together while also trying to figure out what may have caused his son to carry out such a horrendous act. In that sense, Papa is reminiscent of the director’s 2015 murder mystery, Port of Call, except this time the plot is not about who did it, but why. And even more so, it’s about how to go on living after facing such utter tragedy.

Shifting...

“Now or before?” is the puzzling reply that Ga Yin, the protagonist of Fruit Chan’s “The Longest Summer” gives to his boss when asked the mundane question: “Ga Yin, you have any goals in life?”.

“Now or before” could also be a good synopsis for this movie, as it encapsulates the mood of a precise moment in time and highlights the turmoil created by that historical crossroad.

Bagpipes play Auld Lang Syne, while a metallic voice recites empty words: “The Corps’ disbandment is also a time for reflection and pride in all that the Hong Kong Chinese soldiers have achieved”. “The Longest Summer” starts solemnly with some real footage of the disbandment of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps, three months before the Handover to China. When the camera pans over the Corps, we can spot the protagonists of the movie; they are those very soldiers that are just...

Reviews on it have been mixed, but surely it’s a must for Asian horror fans and all things Pang? The Pang Brothers horror The Child's Eye - the first ever Hong Kong film shot completely in digital 3D - is heading for the U.S on DVD, and we’ve just picked up on the artwork and release date. Eye stars Taiwanese idol Rainie Yang, with Shawn Yue, Elanne Kong, Gordon Lam and Jo Koo in an old-school horror story about a group of youngsters trapped in a run-down Bangkok hotel filled with terrifying secrets. Child’s Eye streets in the States on October 11. Synopsis: Stranded in Thailand by the political uprising and airport closure, Rainie and her friends were unable to return home. Reluctantly, they decide to stay in an aged and shabby hotel. Among them is Rainie’s almost-breakup boyfriend, Lok, Ling and her brother Rex and Ciwi with her beloved boyfriend,...

As the craze continues to sweep cinemas across the globe, Hong Kong gets its first digital 3D film with “The Child’s Eye”, the latest in the long running horror series which began back in 2002 with “The Eye”. Appropriately enough, the film sees the return of original directors the Pang Brothers, who have since become well known for their cutting edge use of visual effects and techniques, as seen recently in their spectacular “Storm Warriors”. The film has a hip young cast, headlined by Taiwanese idol Rainie Yang (“Spider Lilies”), continuing to win more respect for her acting career, with support from Elanne Kong (“Rebellion”), Gordon Lam (“Infernal Affairs”), and Jo Koo (“The Detective”), and with Shawn Yue (“Love in a Puff”) in a guest role. The film is set back in the Pangs’ hometown of Bangkok, where Rainie (Rainie Yang), sulky boyfriend Lok (Shawn Yue) and two other couples...

In the Us, we've got vampires coming and going -- the great Let the Right One In came out a couple of weeks ago, and the much-anticipated Twilight is due in just over two weeks. In Hong Kong, prolific filmmaker Wong Jing got a horror-comedy version of the classic Chinese hopping vampire into local cinemas just in time for Halloween. As producer and writer, he filled the cast of The Vampire Who Admires Me with beautiful real-life models (Jj Jia, Ankie Beilke, Maggie Li, Tanya Ng) wearing bikini tops and a police station's new female boss (Jo Koo) shoehorned into a tight olive tank top as her official uniform. What else do you need?

Kozo at LoveHKFilm says that something more than "a slapped-together script, lazy situations and unfunny jokes" would have been nice. To be fair, he suggests the models-turned-actresses should be given a pass for their "unremarkable acting...