Moonlight Cinema

EVENT DESCRIPTION

This summer, Tai Kwun is thrilled to announce Moonlight Cinema, a series of screenings of beloved Hong Kong movies, short films and animations from 28 July to 7 August 2022 at Parade Ground. Tuning out the hustle and bustle of the city, the audience will put on silent- disco headphones and enjoy a one-of-a-kind movie-watching experience in the serene
moonlight.

To Hong Kong, cinema is the crown’s most distinct jewel – after the post-war boom of Cantonese films, the internationally acclaimed martial arts and action movies of Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, and the golden age of Hong Kong productions in the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong cinema, has been painstakingly crafted and refined. Over the decades, the industry has accumulated countless brilliant works that we know will stand the test of time.

Moonlight Cinema selects 10 Hong Kong films spanning from the 1960s to the post-millennium era, showcasing creativity and our cityscape as it fuses together east- meets-west culture and even gives a glimpse of Hong Kong culture abroad. Each feature film will be preceded by a short film screening made by a young Hong Kong filmmaker – allowing the audience to capture the present while reminiscing about the past.

Highlighted of Moonlight Cinema

Premiere of Hong Kong New Wave Cinema Ah Ying (restored version)

Integrating the real life of the leading actress Hui So-ying and her relationship with her late teacher into a fictional drama, Hong Kong New Wave director Allen Fong’s Ah Ying (1983) has brought Hong Kong cinema to a new height in the questioning of fictional and reality, in the creation and exploration of form, and in the ultimate pursuit of presenting a certain truth. It also recorded the unique art scene and the city in the early 1980s – the hybrid and diverse atmosphere full of vitality and possibility is one of the most distinctive elements of the film.

The restored version is first brought to screen in Hong Kong, at Parade Ground, Tai Kwun.

Women Director Focus: Sharp and Tender in Filmmaking

Woman director Tang Shu-shuen tells a female story of the past with a conscious and critical perspective to present the repressed and intricate emotions of Chinese women in The Arch (1968). Boldly applied the Western New Wave cinema techniques of the time to a conventional Chinese story, the film is a trailblazer in Hong Kong cinema showing the director’s unparalleled avant-garde and independent attitude.

Ann Hui’s Summer Snow (1995) depicts the last days of an elderly man struggling with dementia, taking on realism in its characters, as it showcases ordinary people with rich personalities – a representative work of humanistic cinema in Hong Kong. With a tender touch, it tells an ethical story full of humanistic concern.

More Than Kung-Fu: Reshaping Martial Arts in Hong Kong Cinema

The righteous image of Wong Fei-hung has been rooted in Hong Kong culture for years since the first film about the martial arts master in 1949. Martial Club (1981), another film about Master Wong directed by Lau Kar-leung, is one of the pioneering works depicting the hero at a younger age, much earlier than Tsui Hark and Jet Li’s phenomenal movie series.

Emphasising the spiritual aspects which are essential in kung fu, Martial Club is a masterpiece reflecting the martial arts perspective of master Lau Kar-leung.

The Legend of Zu (2001) is a film that employed special effects with great ambition.
Echoing Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain – another ground-breaking classic by Tsui Hark 18 years ago, the film not only explores the new possibilities of special effects at the time but also brings a touch of cyberpunk to this oriental martial-arts fantasy: the “spiritual resurrection” similar to implanting consciousness into a cyborg, the laser-like Thunder Sword, the freewheeling iron wing weapon of Red, etc.

Passionate yet Restrained: Lonely Lovers of the City

Spanning over the course of many years, Comrades: Almost a Love Story (2000) centres on two migrants to Hong Kong from the Mainland, as they struggle to make a living. Teresa Teng’s OST presents an air of uncertainty before the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, capturing the enchanting once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere of the city.

Taking a more forbidden approach is In the Mood for Love (1996), which only furthered director Wong Kar-wai’s nostalgia for 1960’s Hong Kong. The film captures complex attitudes towards memories and loss – featuring corridors, stairs and small rooms where the protagonists linger. A cinematic achievement that offers the most delicate and subtle side of Hong Kong.