FILMS/
LINGER
Hu die fei
World Cinema
Hong Kong, 2008, 90 minutes
SHOWTIMES
Fri, May 2 / 8:30 / Kabuki / LING02K
Sat, May 3 / 3:30 / Kabuki / LING03K
Mon, May 5 / 3:15 / Clay / LING05Y
CREDITS
- dir
-
Johnnie To
- prod
-
Cheung Hong Tat, Johnnie To, Siu-ming Tsui
- scr
-
Ivy Ho
- cam
-
Cheng Siu-keung
- editor
-
David Richardson
- mus
-
Dave Klotz, Guy Zerafa
- cast
-
Roy Cheung, Li Bingbing, Dave Taylor, Vic Zhou
- source
-
Sundream Motion Pictures, 10/F Cable TV Tower, 9 Hoi Shing Road, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. FAX: 852 2112 7681. EMAIL: julianchiu@sundream-pictures.com
Fans of the delirious school of Hong Kong romantic fantasies may be surprised to learn that this mild “ghost lover” tale is directed by superstar director Johnnie To, better known to Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking audiences for such “killer” action films as The Mission (1999), the Election series, Fulltime Killer (SFIFF 2002), Exiled (2006) and Mad Detective (2007). Linger shows us a kinder, gentler Johnnie To. It stars Taiwanese pop singer and actor Vic Zhou and mainland Chinese pretty face Li Bingbing in the story of a handsome young student athlete named Dong (Zhou) who dies in a motorcycle crash while playfully chasing the car of a coed named Yan (Li). Three years later, his spirit returns to take care of unfinished business with the still-grieving Yan, now a law clerk defending a brash young man not unlike her late flame, and tears flow amid the memories (this film has more flashbacks than a Deadhead). You Yong, longtime member of the To stock company, costars in the pivotal role of the deceased’s father. Li sings the film’s love theme in voiceover while Zhou beams radiantly. And yes, they have sex—very, very briefly. Want to know what kind of movie sells tickets in China and its satellites? Look no further. This is the prolific Johnnie To’s 48th film as a director.
—Kelly Vance
In Mandarin and Cantonese with English subtitles. North American Premiere. Sponsored by Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office.
