So Close (2002) Chik yeung tin si (original title)

Director:

Corey Yuen

Writer:

Jeffrey Lau

Release Date:

12 September 2002 (Singapore)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Looks can be deceiving.

Plot:

A conflict of interest between two high-kicking assassin sisters is complicated as they're pursued by the criminals who hired them and an equally high-kicking female cop.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Professional Assassin | Death | Escape | Investigation

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Qi Shu	...	Lynn
Wei Zhao	...	Sue
Karen Mok	...	Hong Yat Hong
Seung-heon Song	...	Yen (as Song Seung Hun)
Yasuaki Kurata	...	Master
Derek Wan	...	Master
Michael Wai	...	Ma Siu Ma
Deric Wan	...	Chow Nunn (as Siu-Lun Wan)
Sau Sek	...	Chow Lui
Ki Yan Lam	...	Alice
Josie Ho	...	Ching (as Josephine Ho)
Sheung Mo Lam	...	Lai Kai-joe
May Kwong	...	May
Henry Fong	...	Dad (as Fong Ping)
Hee Ching Paw	...	Mom
Tats Lau	...	Secret King (as Lau Yee Tat)
Hing-Yin Kam	...	Captain
So Pik Wong	...	May
Ben Lam	...	Ben
Ricardo Mamood-Vega	...	Peter (as Ricmamood)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brian Kinney	...	Reporter
Kenji Tanigaki
Johnnie Guy	...	Conference Chairman (uncredited)
Leon Head	...	Flashback Hitman (uncredited)
Leo Ku	...	(uncredited)
Jude Poyer	...	Flashback Killer (uncredited)
David John Saunders	...	Flashback Hitman 2 (uncredited)
Dave Taylor	...	Flashback Killer 3 (uncredited)
Russell Wait	...	Conference Member (uncredited)

Directed by
Corey Yuen		(as Cory Yuen)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jeffrey Lau

Produced by
Bo-Chu Chui	....	producer

Original Music by
Sam Kao
Kenji Tan

Cinematography by
Kwok-Man Keung

Film Editing by
Ka-Fai Cheung

Production Design by
Eddy Wong

Costume Design by
Jessie Dai
Chung Man Yee

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kai Keung Lai	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Sung Pong Choo	....	storyboarding
Kar Yan Yip	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Chris Goodes	....	sound editor
James Harvey	....	sound editor
Chung Wai Leung	....	sound
Francis Ward Lindsay	....	sound editor
Robert Mackenzie	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Pirola	....	sound re-recording mixer
Blair Slater	....	foley mixer & editor
Doris Wang	....	dubbing editor: mandarin

Visual Effects by
Roger Bolton	....	digital compositor: Complete Post
Francis Fung	....	visual effects editor
Harry Ching Wei Hung	....	lighting and texture artist: Menfond Electronic Art
Laurence Lok	....	digital compositor
Samuel Mok	....	visual effects compositor
Kerri Schwarze	....	visual effects producer: Complete Post
David Tso	....	opening credit sequence
David Tso	....	visual effects compositor
Waikit Wan	....	visual effects
Peggy Wong	....	visual effects coordinator

Stunts
Jianyong Gao	....	stunt coordinator
Ming Qiu	....	stunt double: Wei Zhao
Corey Yuen	....	stunt coordinator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Man Kit Chow	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Neil Wood	....	colorist: dailies

Music Department
Wesley Tan	....	music arranger

Other crew
Peggy Lee	....	production controller
Chi-Kit Szeto	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia
• Eastern Productions

Distributors

• Columbia TriStar Italia (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• EDKO Film (2002) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2004) (Argentina) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (dubbed)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar
• ERA Home Entertainment (2002) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2003) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Complete Post
• Menfond Electronic Art & Computer Design Company

Other Companies

• Salon Films  camera equipment provided by
• Salon Films  grip and lighting equipment
• Kodak (Hong Kong) Ltd.  film supplied by
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles
• Cinevex  film processing
• Showreel Film Facilities  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

"Chik yeung tin si" - Hong Kong (original title)
"Closer" - Japan (English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive violence and a sexual conversation

Runtime:

UK:110 min | Poland:106 min (dvd release) | Argentina:111 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Poland:15 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | USA:R | Indonesia:Dewasa (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:PG13 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia

Goofs:

Factual errors: Hong is accused of having concrete evidence supporting her apparent murder of Lynn - yet she had a solid alibi chasing Sue with other cops. The evidence is obviously barely circumstantial - a strand of hair and a necklace planted at the scene. Forensics would have picked this up and Hong's fellow officers would have confirmed her alibi. There was absolutely no reason to believe that Hong killed Lynn.

Quotes:

Hong Yat Hong:[subtitled version] A gun is like a bird. If you don't grab it tightly enough, it flies away. If you grab it too tightly, it will die.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in To Each His Own Cinema (2007)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday

Possibly the nicest movie about professional killers ever made

Despite the fact that this is a super-slick action thriller with guns, swords, cars and martial arts, So Close is a refreshing and unusual movie. It's NICE, to put it simply. Lovely girls, dressed in white much of the time, hanging around their picturesque house messing around and eating cakes and having baths. Despite all the asses they kick, they actually behave like young women and not ultra-agressive 'I-want-to-be-a-man' type female heroes, like Xena or Sarah Connor.

The action is sleek and graceful - feminine. It's also rather slow and lo-key compared to most films of this nature. The real action doesn't come until the climax, but when it does, director Corey Yuen pulls out all the stops, climaxing in a two-against-one sword fight that ranks alongside that of The Phantom Menace.

Despite how it's advertised, So Close is not a skinflick. The women are certainly not sex objects. They are sexy, but in a wholesome way. It's their natural beauty rather than their sex appeal that is most noticable.

So Close is a great movie, and should entertain any mainstream audience regardless of their farmiliarity of Asian films.