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Richard James Havis

Hong Kong romances are often melodramatic, and in the 1990s, increasingly geared towards teenagers. However, some filmmakers were still experimenting with the genre.
We look at three outliers: a surreal science fiction romance, a love story that morphs into a fantasy and a film about a presumed incestuous relationship.
Saviour of the Soul (1991)


This postmodern sci-fi romance, loosely based on the popular Japanese manga City Hunter, is a thoroughbred romance at its core.
Set in a futuristic-looking Hong Kong, Saviour of the Soul stars Andy Lau Tak-wah as the sword-wielding assassin Ching, who falls for one of two identical sisters, both played by Anita Mui Yim-fong.
When sister one’s fiancé (Kenny Bee) kills a powerful criminal, his acolyte Silver Fox (a hammy Aaron Kwok Fu-shing) exacts his revenge.
Sister one disappears, and the lovelorn Ching searches for her, much to the chagrin of sister two. But the return of the vengeful Silver Fox threatens their already difficult romance.

The screenplay co-written by Wong Kar-wai and Jeff Lau Chun-wai features many Wong-style monologues in which the characters express their romantic hopes and desires.
But the film also unspools at a frantic pace, with directors Corey Yuen Kwai and David Lai Dai-wai trying to rein in the chaos that threatens to break out at any moment.
The action is innovative: the main sword fight between Lau and Kwok is an old-fashioned wuxia battle shot with 1990s kineticism, while another scene features Lau fighting Kwok while trapped inside a mirror.
This visual creativity, courtesy of Peter Pau Tak-hei’s camera work and Yee Chung-man’s art direction, was praised by critics like Post reviewer Paul Fonoroff as a “live-action comic strip”.

Saviour of the Soul was the first production from Lau’s company Teamwork Motion Pictures, and the romantically obsessed, audacious hero he played marked a change of image for the star.
But Mui got all the praise, with many noting her impressive ability to create two distinct characters in a dual role and her rare skill in providing both the film’s action and its comic relief.
Anna Magdalena (1998)


This directorial debut by art director Yee Chung-man is a distinctly unusual romance. Structured in four “movements” like a work of classical music, the film begins as a typical romantic drama and ends as a phantasmagorical flight of the imagination.
Although the fantasy sequence – which takes up a third of the running time – feels disconnected from the rest of the storyline, the emotions expressed are a perfect fit for the finale, and it looks gorgeous.
Written by Ivy Ho (Comrades, Almost a Love Story), the script features Takeshi Kaneshiro as a piano tuner who lives in a flat below Kelly Chen Wai-lam’s pianist.

When Aaron Kwok’s broke would-be novelist moves in with Kaneshiro, he falls in love with her, but is instantly rejected. The piano tuner also quietly falls for her.
The first two thirds play out like a bromance, as the two men bond over their romantic failures. But the last part, which was shot in Hanoi, Vietnam, morphs into a fantasy novel-within-a-film, in which love is given greater rein.
Yee’s infusion of dreamy melancholy and heightened romanticism into the narrative lingers with many viewers.
Yet for others, such as Post critic Fonoroff, the “ersatz emoting” was just too much. “All the beautiful packaging that Hong Kong cinema has to offer cannot disguise the patent phoniness that infests Anna Magdalena,” he wrote.
Isabella (2006)


Pang Ho-cheung’s provocative film was a hit with local critics at the time, as serious art-house fare has long been a relative rarity in Hong Kong cinema.
It tells the story of a slovenly Macau policeman, Shing (Chapman To Man-chat), who picks up a schoolgirl prostitute, Yan (Isabella Leong Lok-sze), and later discovers she may be his daughter. The film performed well at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for best film music.
It was a new direction for Pang, who had made his name with offbeat entertainers like Men Suddenly in Black, but Isabella’s underperformance at the box office saw him quickly return to his characteristic quirky style.
Thiscarefully etched, character-driven story explores what happens next: as the two protagonists learn more about each other, a genuine familial love grows between them, and their lives become more stable and hopefulas a result.

Pang wanted to make a film about Macau as it prepared for the return to Chinese administration in 1999, so he set the drama during the run-up, using To’s corrupt police officer and the changing police department to reflect the era.
To, who also co-produced, earned critical praise for his performance, endowing the amoral, thuggish Shing with an unsentimental pathos.
To told Clarence Tsui in a Post interview that preparing for the part entailed much self-reflection and deep thinking after years of playing caricatures. “I think a damaged personality counts more than technique,” he said of playing Shing.
Leong also impressed in the role of the girl, as she had previously only appeared in fluffy teenage fare.

“The camera loves her,” noted Fonoroff, “and Pang has tailored the role to fit the personality of a teenager whose seductive surface belies the naive waif within.”
In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry.
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When Hong Kong romance movies got weird: Saviour of the Soul, Anna Magdalena and Isabella

Takeshi Kaneshiro (left) and Kelly Chen in a still from quirky Hong Kong romance Anna Magdalena (1998), directed by Yee Chung-man. 

Andy Lau in a still from Saviour of the Soul (1991).

Anita Mui in a still from Saviour of the Soul.

Takeshi Kaneshiro (left) and Kelly Chen in a still from Anna Magdalena.

Isabella Leong (left) and Chapman To in a still from Isabella (2006). Photo: Media Asia Films

Isabella Leong (left) and Chapman To in a still from Isabella. Photo: SCMP

Revisiting 1985 horror gem The Island, Hong Kong cinema’s attempt at a rural gorefest

John Sham (front) in a still from gory Hong Kong horror film The Island (1985), directed by Leong Po-chih. 

John Sham (right) in a still from The Island. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

Peter Chan Lung in a still from The Island. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

A still from The Island. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

John Sham (left) and Richard Ng Yiu-hon in a still from The Return of Pom Pom (1984)

John Sham in a still from The Island. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

How Hong Kong actor Chan Koon-tai, Bruce Lee’s counterpart, wowed with his kung fu skills

Chan Koon-tai in a still from Man of Iron (1972). The Hong Kong actor, known more for his kung fu skills than his looks, became a big star in the 1970s.

Bruce Lee and Unicorn Chan visit director Chang Cheh (left) and actors David Chiang and Chan Koon-tai on the set of The Blood Brothers (1973). Photo: Celestial Pictures

Chan Koon-tai (centre) in a still from Man of Iron.

Chan Koon-tai (left) in a still from Killer Constable (1980).

Chan Koon-tai (left) in a still from Killer Constable.

How Sammo Hung came to direct his first film – then complete Bruce Lee’s Game of Death

Sammo Hung in a still from The Iron-Fisted Monk (1977), which was also his directorial debut. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

Sammo Hung (left) and Chan Sing in a still from The Iron-Fisted Monk. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

Sammo Hung in a still from The Iron-Fisted Monk. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

Sammo Hung (left) and Bruce Lee in a still from Enter the Dragon (1973). Photo: Warner Bros

Sammo Hung (right) in a still from Enter the Fat Dragon (1978).

Cecilia Cheung: Hong Kong actress, sex scandal victim and Chinese social media star

Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

Cheung and Nicholas Tse in 2001. Photo: Reuters

Cheung in a still from Lost in Time (2003), for which she won best actress at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group

Cheung and Tse at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011, the year they filed for divorce. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cheung and Stephen Chow in a still from King of Comedy (1999). Her feature-film debut remains one of her most memorable roles. Photo: The Star Overseas

Cheung and her three sons. Photo: Weibo

Cheung in a photo she posted on her Weibo account in 2023. Photo: Weibo

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Classic Hong Kong cinema

Classic Hong Kong cinema: John Woo on action, violence, influences, growing up in poverty and working in Hollywood in 1997 interview

Legendary Hong Kong action film director John Woo in 1990. Photo: SCMP

Famous Hong Kong action film director John Woo talks about his life and work in a 1997 interview. Photo: SCMP

John Travolta (top) and Nicolas Cage in a still from Face/Off.

John Woo during an interview in 1996. Photo: SCMP

Tony Leung (left) and Chow Yun-fat in a still from Hard Boiled (1991), directed by Woo.

Woo (left) shakes hands with actor Tom Cruise at a photo call in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2000.

Danny Lee (left) and Chow Yun-fat in a still from The Killer, a 1989 film directed by John Woo.

Woo in his office in 1993. Photo: SCMP

Woo on the set of Red Cliff, with actor Takeshi Kaneshiro.

How Ringo Lam crime thriller Full Alert mixed realistic action on Hong Kong streets with premonition of 1997 handover

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Full Alert.

Lau Ching-wan hunting down an escaped robber in the mean streets (Bird Street) of Mong Kok in Ringo Lam’s 1997 movie Full Alert.

Ringo Lam, pictured in 1995. Photo: SCMP

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Francis Ng in a still from Full Alert.

Amanda Lee (front) in a still from Full Alert. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

Francis Ng in a still from Full Alert.

Ringo Lam in an interview with the Post in 1997. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong’s first art-house film, Cecille Tong Shu-shuen’s The Arch, starring Crazy Rich Asians’ Lisa Lu Yan, was ahead of its time

Lisa Lu in a still from Cecille Tong Shu-shuen’s The Arch (1970), considered to be Hong Kong’s first art-house film.

Cecille Tong and members of her staff at Joss, the Chinese restaurant she runs on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles.

Lisa Lu, who starred in The Arch and The Empress Dowager, poses with her daughter Lucia Hwong in 1978. Photo: SCMP

Lisa Lu in a still from The Arch.

Promotional stills for Sup Sap Bup Dup (1975), directed by Tong.

A scene from the 1974 film China Behind, directed by Tong.

How Bruce Lee’s Way of the Dragon made Chuck Norris a star with their fight in Rome’s Colosseum, and what the film showed about Lee’s directing

Bruce Lee in a still from The Way of the Dragon (1972). Photo: Criterion Collection

Bruce Lee in a still from The Way of the Dragon (1972), which he starred in and directed. Photo: Criterion Collection

Bruce Lee as Ah Lung (front) and Nora Miao as Chen Ching Hua in a still from The Way of the Dragon. Photo: Golden Harvest

Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee in a still from The Way of the Dragon. Photo: LCSD

Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in a still from The Way of the Dragon. Photo: Criterion Collection

Maggie Cheung in her own words, on Wong Kar-wai and In the Mood for Love, marrying Olivier Assayas and being an actress, not just a film star

Interview with award-winning actress Maggie Cheung Man-yuk at Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Maggie Cheung at an interview with the Post in 2001. Photo: SCMP.

Maggie Cheung (left) and Cherie Chung in a still from Prince Charming (1984).

Maggie Cheung (left) and Andy Lau in a still from As Tears Go By (1988).

Maggie Cheung in a still from the 1996 film Irma Vep.

Maggie Cheung (left) and Tony Leung in a still from In the Mood for Love (2000).

Peter Chan’s early films, featuring the two Tony Leungs and Maggie Cheung, were a breath of fresh air in Hong Kong

Anita Yuen (left) and Leslie Cheung in a still from He’s a Woman, She’s a Man (1994).

A promotional image of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father (1993), starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai (first from right) and Tony Leung Ka-fai (second from right). Peter Chan Ho-sun’s early films “have an international, almost placeless feel” despite their local issues and references.

Film director Peter Chan Ho-sun in 1995. Photo: SCMP

Eric Tsang (left) and Leslie Cheung in a still from He’s a Woman, She’s a Man, the 1994 film directed by Peter Chan.

Fallen Angels: Wong Kar-wai on casting Leon Lai, Michele Reis, Charlie Yeung and Karen Mok against type in 1995 film

Michele Reis and Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from Wong Kar-wai’s Fallen Angels. Photo: Block 2 Pictures and Jet Tone Contents

Leon Lai in a still from Wong Kar-wai’s Fallen Angels, the 1995 film that was almost part of Chungking Express.

Wong Kar-wai in front of a promotional poster for Fallen Angels in 1995. Photo: SCMP

Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from Fallen Angels.

Leon Lai (left) and Michele Reis in a still from Fallen Angels.

Michele Reis in a still from Fallen Angels.

(Clockwise from top left) Charlie Yeung, Michele Reis, Leon Lai and Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from Fallen Angels.

Leon Lai plays a hitman in a still from Fallen Angels.

How Running Out of Time, starring Andy Lau and Lau Ching-wan, helped shape the ‘Johnnie To Cinematic Universe’

Andy Lau in a still from Johnnie To’s Running Out of Time (1999).

Andy Lau, pictured with Helena Law at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000, where he was named best actor for his role in Running Out of Time. Photo: SCMP

A still from The Mission (1999).

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Andy Lau in a still from Running Out of Time (1999).

Johnnie To in his Kwun Tong office in 1999. Photo: SCMP

Ekin Cheng in a still from Running Out of Time 2.

Likened to Hollywood hit Love Story, this film beat Jackie Chan, Jet Li at the Hong Kong box office in 1993

Anita Yuen (left) and Lau Ching-wan in a still from C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri.

Anita Yuen (left) and Lau Ching-wan in a still from C’est la Vie, Mon Cheri. It beat films starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li to become a box-office hit in 1993. Photo: courtesy of LCSD 

Film director Derek Yee Tung-sing giving a thank-you speech after being awarded the best director prize at the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards for his film, “C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri”. Photo: SCMP

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Anita Yuen in a still from C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri.

Winners at the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards pose for a group picture. From left in the first row are best supporting actor Paul Chun Pui, best actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang, best actress Anita Yuen Wing-yee, best supporting actress Fung Bo-bo and best director Derek Yee Tung-shing. With the exception of Wong, all the others worked on C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri. Photo: SCMP

Brigitte Lin’s first gender-neutral role, Sally Yeh’s butch Beijing Opera performer make Tsui Hark’s 1986 period comedy Peking Opera Blues highly enjoyable

Peking Opera Blues starring Brigitte Lin remains an enjoyable tale of espionage, Chinese opera and gender bending. Mark Cheng (left) and Brigitte Lin in a still from Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Peking Opera Blues

Playwright Raymond To Kwok-wai, pictured in 1994, was the screenwriter behind both Shanghai Blues and Peking Opera Blues. Photo: SCMP

Sally Yeh (left) in a still from Shanghai Blues, which was released two years before Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Hong Kong Film Archive

(From left) Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung and Sally Yeh in a still from Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Peking Opera Blues

Tsui Hark, posing beside the poster for another of his movies, A Better Tomorrow III, in 1989. Photo: SCMP

Brigitte Lin (right) in a still from Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Peking Opera Blues

A change from Jackie Chan and Jet Li – Beast Cops’ Gordon Chan on how directing the Hong Kong gangs vs police film was not like his previous work

A still from Beast Cops. Photo: Handout

(From left) Sam Lee, Anthony Wong and Michael Wong in a still from Beast Cops, a Mong Kok-set gangs vs police action drama directed by Gordon Chan.

Best actress Sandra Ng Kwan-yu (left) and best actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang with their awards at the 18th annual Hong Kong Film Awards in 1999. Ng starred in Portland Street Blues and Wong in Beast Cops. Photo: SCMP

Jet Li in a still from Fist of Legend, the 1994 film directed by Gordon Chan.

Michael Wong (front) in a still from Beast Cops.

Directors Gordon Chan (left) and Dante Lam, pictured in 2006. Photo: SCMP

(From left) Anthony Wong, Kathy Chow and Michael Wong in a still from Beast Cops.

Anthony Wong in a still from Beast Cops.

Romance meets ghost story in Hong Kong movie masterpiece Rouge, starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung and directed by Stanley Kwan

Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung in a still from Rouge.

Leslie Cheung and Anita in a still from Rouge (1988), directed by Stanley Kwan, in which she plays a 1930s courtesan who returns 50 years later as a ghost seeking her lover, played by Cheung.

Anita Mui (centre) alongside Alex Man (left) and Elaine Chu in a still from Rouge.

Stanley Kwan in an interview with the Post in 1988. Photo: SCMP.

Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung in Rouge.

Made in Hong Kong, Fruit Chan’s take on grim reality of 1997 for many in the city, and how the groundbreaking independent film was conceived

Sam Lee in a still from Made in Hong Kong. Photo: Focus Films Limited

Sam Lee in a still from Made in Hong Kong, Fruit Chan’s 1997 film about the grim reality of life for many people in Hong Kong. Photo: Golden Scene

(From left) Wenders Li, Sam Lee and Neiky Yim in a still from Made in Hong Kong.

Fruit Chan (centre), winner of Best Director and Best Picture at the 3rd Golden Bauhinia Awards Ceremony, alongside actors Neiky Yim (left) and Sam Lee, in 1998. Photo: SCMP

Sam Lee and Neiky Yim in a still from Made in Hong Kong. Photo: Golden Scene

Sam Lee and Neiky Yim in Made in Hong Kong. Photo: Nicetop Independent

Why Boat People, starring Andy Lau and George Lam, Ann Hui’s hit film about post-war Vietnam, displeased the Chinese and French authorities

Andy Lau as To Minh in a still from Boat People (1982). Ann Hui intended the film to tell a human story that explained why refugees were fleeing Vietnam. Hong Kong film-goers saw it as an allegory of the city’s future under Chinese rule. Photo: Bluebird Film Company

George Lam (left) and Season Ma in a still from Boat People. Photo: Bluebird Film Company

Ann Hui won the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 77th Venice Film Festival in 2020. Photo: Reuters

A still from Boat People showing Vietnamese military personnel in the streets.

Andy Lau as To Minh (left) and George Lam as Akutagawa in a still from Boat People.

Andy Lau as To Minh in a still from Boat People.

What they said about In the Mood For Love: director Wong Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung on filming the romantic drama

Maggie Cheung in a still from In The Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Maggie Cheung Man-yuk and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from In the Mood for Love, directed by Wong Kar-wai. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Tony Leung (left), Maggie Cheung and director Wong Kar-wai during the promotion for In the Mood For Love in Cannes, in 2000. Photo: AFP/Jack Guez

Maggie Cheung in a still from In the Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Tony Leung in a still from In The Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Tony Leung (left) and Zhang Ziyi in a still from 2046. Photo: Block 2 Pictures and Jet Tone Contents

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in a still from In the Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Jackie Chan focused on ‘real kung fu’ in Drunken Master II in reaction to shoddy ‘wire fu’ martial arts films of the early 90s

Jackie Chan in a still from Drunken Master II (1994). The movie focused heavily on real kung fu by real martial artists, as an antidote to the slew of shoddy ‘wire fu’ movies in the early 1990s.

Jackie Chan at an interview with the Post in 1994. Photo: SCMP

Jackie Chan in a still from Drunken Master (1978). Photo: Golden Harvest

Jackie Chan (left) on the set of Drunken Master II.

Jackie Chan (right) and Felix Wong in a still from Drunken Master II (1994).

Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle were not the films that made the Hong Kong comedian famous – so which ones did?

Stephen Chow as Trinket in a still from the film Royal Tramp.

Stephen Chow (left) and Ng Man-tat in a still from Royal Tramp. Critics called Chow 
 “the finest Hong Kong comedian of his generation” and “Hong Kong’s hottest actor” of the 1990s.

Stephen Chow at an interview with the Post in 1989. Photo: SCMP

Stephen Chow at a film shoot in 1989. Photo: SCMP

Ng Man-tat (left) and Stephen Chow in a still from All for the Winner.

Stephen Chow (left) and Anita Yuen in a still from From Beijing with Love.

Gong Li (left) and Stephen Chow pose for photographers to promote The Flirting Scholar in 1993. Photo: SCMP

Stephen Chow in a still from Shaolin Soccer.

‘I am not Jackie Chan or Chow Yun-fat’: Hong Kong actor Lau Ching-wan on why Hollywood doesn’t need him, bad guy roles, and The Godfather

Lau Ching-wan during an interview with the Post in 1996. Photo: SCMP

Lau Ching-wan during an interview with the Post in 1996. He reveals why he measures his English comprehension against The Godfather and why Hollywood does not need him. Photo: SCMP.

Leon Lai (left) and Lau Ching-wan in a still from A Hero Never Dies (1998).

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Full Alert (1997).

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Anita Yuen in a still from C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri (1993).

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Too Many Ways to be Number One.

Lau Ching-wan (third from left) in a still from Big Bullet (1996), directed by Benny Chan.

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Lifeline (1997).

Lau Ching-wan and his wife, Amy Kwok, pose for photographers on the red carpet of the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2013. Photo: SCMP

What they said about The Killer: director John Woo and stars Chow Yun-fat and Sally Yeh on shooting the classic Hong Kong action movie

Chow Yun-fat and Danny Lee in a still from The Killer (1989), directed by John Woo.

Chow Yun-fat (right) as the hitman Ah Jong and Danny Lee as Detective Li Ying in a still from The Killer (1989), directed by John Woo.

When Hong Kong romance movies got weird: Saviour of the Soul, Anna Magdalena and Isabella

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Sci-fi story Saviour of the Soul, fantasy tale Anna Magdalena and the provocative Isabella went outside the norm for Hong Kong romances

Saviour of the Soul (1991)

Sci-fi story Saviour of the Soul, fantasy tale Anna Magdalena and the provocative Isabella went outside the norm for Hong Kong romances