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Fuyajo sleepless town5/30/2023 ![]() Coproductions, though, can come with their own problems, central among them a set of mixed or conflicting agendas. Given the recent phenomenal flow of pop culture products between Japan and Hong Kong, in both directions, it's not surprising that prominent HK filmmakers like Lee Chi-ngai find themselves working on Japanese-financed films like Sleepless Town (others include The Christ of Nanjing (1996), Kitchen (1997), and Moonlight Express (1998)). The Hong Kong film industry, mired in financial crisis for several years now, has looked to several alternative strategies for survival: idiosyncratic, ultra-low budget films that are quick to produce, and less risky if they lose money ( Made in Hong Kong (1997), 9413 (1998), Love Will Tear Us Apart (1999), The Accident (1999)) massive high-concept and high-budget spectaculars that aim to fill the SAR's theaters again ( Stormriders (1998), and A Man Called Hero (1999)) and coproductions, with the mainland, European investors, or East Asian partners who still have money to spend. Xiao Lian/Sato NatsumiĪlso starring :Seijun Suzuki, Toshiya Nagasawa, Kippei Shiina, Shosuke Tanihara, Producers: Masato Hara Tsuguhiko Kadokawa (exec. Mirai Yamamoto also acted in Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (1998).Screenplay: Lee Chi-ngai Seishu Hase (novel.Mirai Yamamoto, who plays the female lead, is the daughter of fashion design Kansai Yamamoto. ![]() The fleeting travelogue-like images of Kabukicho are also nice: basement pubs, striptease joint, eye-searing vertically rectangular neon lights, life-size posters of teen girls in bikini, and salaryman spews his supper and sake in the street. Don't take my words for it, take a look at the trailer yourself. ![]() The look and feel of this film is top notched, which won it the 2 HK Film Awards in Best Cinematography and Art Direction. And if you expect more romance in this film because of KT, while more action in the other film because of JC, you're absolutely correct. While KT is well known in Asia, JC has achieved international profile. This film is less well known than Shinjuku Incident because of Jackie Chan's high status. This is a forerunner of Shinjuku Incident (2009) where both films are set in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and both are in the gangster genre, and main characters are Chinese (from various parts of PRC) settling in the area. Similarly, Michael Wong speaks Cantonese with a New Yorker accent, which lends distinctness and colour to his voice. Both of these examples are found in Chungking Express (1994). Also, another Taiwanese actress like Brigitte Lin would in fact speak Mandarin in many Cantonese films. For example, we found out that KT speaks Cantonese with a heavy Mandarin accent. After the 1990s, everyone are given their own voice, even if they have an accent. For example, Chow Yun-Fat, who speaks perfect Cantonese - and in fact can deliver lines in English as well - was dubbed in most of his films by another Cantonese speakers (who usually didn't sound as good as Chow). No, it has nothing to do with the actor's language problem. Absurd, isn't it?īefore that, everyone's voice was dubbed. This was in fact an industry standard practise. ![]() For foreign audience of HK films, they would say, why shouldn't this be the case anyway. There's an interesting development occurred after 1990s in the HK film industry that I liked where they eventually used the actors' original voice in the movies. I suspect he probably didn't even need to audition for the part. Very few people who can watch this movie without subtitle, except for Kaneshiro Takashi, who can understand all the dialogues speaking in its native tongues. Thanks to his mixed heritage of Chinese and Japanese (inherited a Japanese nose, and Chinese eyes), and the different places he lived and worked, he's able to speak Japanese, Mandarin, Hokkien, and Cantonese, which are all spoken in this film.Īlthough he wasn't required to speak Cantonese and Hokkien, one could still say KT is tailored for this role.
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