Hei ma wang zi (1999)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Jing Wong

Writer:

Jing Wong (written by)

Release Date:

1 April 1999 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A man falls in love with a woman from Shanghai, who's come to Hong Kong to look for long-lost-mother, but problems arise when her wealthy father assumes she's been kidnapped. |

Cast

Andy Lau	...	Wah Dee
Michelle Reis	...	'Ice' Poa
Deannie Yip	...	'Babe' Fei (as Deannie Ip)
Suki Kwan	...	Salad (as Shooky Kwan)
Nick Cheung	...	Tart
Rongguang Yu	...	Mr. Poa (as Yu Rong Guang)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aman Chang	...	Movie director
Kong Foo Keung
Spencer Lam	...	Wah's Dad

Also Known As:

Prince Charming

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English | Mandarin | British Sign Language

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

B.O.B. and Partners

Trivia:

In the motorcycle delivery sequence, the envelope that Wah (Andy Lau) puts in the man's mouth has the words BOB on it. B.O.B. is part of the name of Jing Wong's production company B.O.B. & Partners Co. Ltd.

Quotes:

'Ice' Poa: How many people do you know in Mongkok?
'Babe' Fei: I know all of them!

Director Wong Jing makes a good movie out of an improbable story.

Hong Kong's film industry is in the doldrums, yet Wong Jing's movies continue to be box office hits. Prince Charming is an improbable romance that stars Andy Lau, playing an unemployed guy hanging out on the fringes of society. He lives in a rundown building with his foul-mouthed mother and a friend. This friend just split with his long time girlfriend, nicknamed Tart. Andy Lau's girlfriend has just dumped him for a record producer who offers her a job in Taiwan. Then there is a thug nicknamed "Fatty" who is trying to get back the money he loaned Lau's friend.

Into this mess comes "Ice," the nickname of the character the very pretty Michelle Reis plays. She is trying to find her mother, who stayed in Hong Kong when her father went to Shanghai many years earlier. "Ice" grew up with her father, who is now rich. She ends up using Lau's mother as a guide to help her with the search in the HK's Mongkok district. At the same time, a gang is trying to kidnap her to get ransom money from "Ice's" father.

There are plenty of ups and down in the story. Wong Jing, who is the writer/director of this action/romance, keeps the action moving. If you want a guided tour of Hong Kong, and a chance to see a pretty good movie without much objectionable violence, "Prince Charming" is right up your line.