Wong gok hak yau (2004)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Tung-Shing Yee

Writer:

Tung-Shing Yee (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 2004 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

Fate can bring us together; so can sin!

Plot:

Hong Kong nihilism. December 22, a street quarrel leads to the death of a gang leader's son. Next day...

Plot Keywords:

Death | Revenge | Killer | Mongkok | Nihilism

Awards:

4 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Cecilia Cheung	...	Dandan
Daniel Wu	...	Lai-fu
Alex Fong	...	Milo
Anson Leung	...	Ben
Kar Lok Chin	...	Brandon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chuen-Yee Cha	...	Head of Anti-vice Unit
Alexander Chan	...	Wah
Monica Chan	...	Milo's wife
Biu Law Che	...	Shitty Kong (as Paul Car)
Henry Fong	...	Carl
Christie Fung	...	Sue (as Jung-ching Fung)
Cynthia Ho	...	Jane (as Mo-si Ho)
Elena Kong	...	Nightclub Lady
Suet Lam	...	Liu
Redbean Lau	...	Liu's wife
Shek Yin Lau	...	Fatty - nightclub manager
Sam Lee	...	Franky
Shui Ting Ng	...	Kinson
Hee Ching Paw	...	Volunteer Helper at Sue's home
Wai-On Peng	...	Tiger
Limin Sun	...	Tim
Austin Wai	...	Milo's superior
Ken Wong	...	Wilson

Also Known As:

One Nite in Mongkok (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title)
One Night in Mongkok (UK) (alternative spelling)
Wang jiao hei ye (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Ireland:18 | Malaysia:18SG | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut)

Filming Locations:

Mongkok, Yau Tsim Mong District, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Company:

Film Unlimited

Movie Connections:

References XIII (2003) (VG)

Multi-layered crime drama - terrific stuff!

ONE NITE IN MONGKOK (Wong Jiao Hei Ye)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)

Sound format: Dolby Digital

(Color & black and white)

A frazzled police squad searches the Mongkok district of Kowloon for a hired killer (Daniel Wu) whose latest assignment - the targeting of a drug lord responsible for another criminal's death - could ignite a horrendous Triad turf war.

Terrific crime drama, filmed in near-documentary style by director Derek Yee (PEOPLE'S HERO, LOST IN TIME), and featuring Alex Fong (FULL THROTTLE) and Wu (ENTER THE PHOENIX) as characters on opposite sides of the law, each drawn in shades of grey by Yee's gritty script. In something of an ironic twist, Yee paints a remarkably humane picture of villains and good guys alike, using Wu's sympathetic character (and his fraught relationship with Cecilia Cheung's unlikely 'tart with a heart') to portray a world in which people are driven to dark acts by circumstances beyond their control, an approach which serves to highlight the thin veneer of 'respectability' separating the police from those they pursue on a daily basis. This being a HK film, however, tragedy is never far away: Fong pursues his quarry with relentless dedication and Wu flees for his life, but Fate throws them together for one of the most devastating finales in recent memory.

Combining action, drama and character development in equal measure, the narrative moves at a rapid clip (except for a brief lag in the middle) and explodes into frenzied activity at regular intervals. Production values are immaculate, and there's a stunning transition from black and white to color during the first ten minutes. Yee draws strong performances from a superb supporting cast, including Chin Kar-lok (the film's action director) as Fong's right-hand man, and Anson Leung (AB-NORMAL BEAUTY) as a trigger-happy rookie whose inexperience leads to a terrible disaster.

(Cantonese and Mandarin dialogue)