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Martial arts epic fights musical romance at Hong Kong film awards
2006-04-07
Tsui Hark's martial arts epic "Seven Swords" faces fierce competition from Peter Chan Ho-sun's musical "Perhaps Love" at the territory's star-studded film awards. The two movies garnered 11 nominations each in top categories, including best film and best director, for the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards to be held before an audience of 6,000 at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Stars including Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi and Korea's Jun Ji-hyun of hit movie "My Sassy Girl" are expected to walk the red carpet at the ceremony. Switching between 1930s and modern-day China, "Perhaps Love" was the first Chinese musical made in 40 years, while "Seven Swords" was a box-office smash on the mainland. Johnnie To's gangster flick "Election", and Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's car racing movie "Initial D" follow close behind with 10 nods each, also competing for the best film and director prizes. "Initial D", an adaptation from Japanese comics, stars Taiwanese pop sensation Jay Chou who picked up a nomination for best new performer. Action hero Jackie Chan's "The Myth", received four nominations including best film, while Derek Yee has been nominated in the best director category for "2 Young". Tony Leung Ka-fai, who was given a suspended jail term for drink-driving in January, won two nominations, one in the best actor category for his fiery-tempered mobster role in "Election" and the other for his portrayal of a photographer in Stanley Kwan's "Everlasting Regret". "Everlasting Regret", based on Wang Anyi's multi-award winning novel of the same name, was in competition in last year's Venice Film Festival and has six nominations for the Hong Kong awards. Leung, who lost out in the best actor prize to "Divergence" star Aaron Kwok in last November's Taiwanese Golden Horse Film Awards, comes up against him again in the same category. Leung is also vying with his fellow actor in "Election", Simon Yam, and "Wait 'Til You're Older" star Andy Lau for the category. Chinese starlet Zhou Xun has been nominated in the best actress category for her role in "Perhaps Love", alongside Sylvia Chang in "Rice Rhapsody", Sammi Cheng in "Everlasting Regret", Karen Mok in "Wait 'Til You're Older" and "Home Sweet Home" star Karena Lam. Martial arts fantasy epic "The Promise" by Chen Kaige picked up five nominations for its cinematography, art direction, costume and make-up design, as well as sound design and visual effects. "The Promise" is China's biggest-budget movie, costing 40 million US dollars to make. Peter Kam, who won the Silver Bear for best music for "Isabella" at this year's Berlin Film Festival, received a nomination for best original film score with co-composer Leon Ko for "Perhaps Love". Although not as prestigious as the Golden Horse Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards are considered among Chinese cinema's top accolades. Films must meet one of several criteria establishing a strong Hong Kong connection to be eligible.
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