Ordinary Heroes (1999 film)
1999 Hong Kong film
| Ordinary Heroes | |||||||
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 film poster | |||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 千言萬語 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 千言万语 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | thousands of words | ||||||
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| Directed by | Ann Hui | ||||||
| Written by | Chan King-chung | ||||||
| Produced by | Ann Hui | ||||||
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Yu Lik-wai | ||||||
| Edited by | Kwong Chi-leung | ||||||
| Music by |
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Production company | Class Limited Productions | ||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 128 minutes | ||||||
| Country | Hong Kong | ||||||
| Language | Cantonese | ||||||
Ordinary Heroes is a 1999 Hong Kong drama film directed and produced by Ann Hui. Based on real-life prototypes, the film focused on social activists in the 1970s and 1980s who fought defiantly against the British Colonial government for the rights of the Yau Ma Tei boat people and their mainland wives. Mostly leftists and Communist sympathisers, their despair after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre is also highlighted.
The Chinese title refers to a popular Teresa Teng song which played during the film. Ordinary Heroes was critically acclaimed, winning Best Picture at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards and the 36th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, among others.
Cast
- Loletta Lee as Sow Fung-tai (credited as Rachel Lee)
- Lee Kim-yu as teenaged Sow Fung-tai
- Lee Kang-sheng as Lee Siu-tung
- Cheung Nga-kwan as teenaged Lee Siu-tung
- Anthony Wong as Father Kam
- Tse Kwan-ho as Yau Ming-foon
- Paw Hee-ching as Lee's mother
- Lawrence Ah Mon as police officer
- Mok Chiu-yu as street performer
- Ann Hui as director (cameo)
Awards
It won the prestigious Best Picture award at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as five awards at the Golden Horse Film Festival, including Best Film. It was chosen as Hong Kong's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not manage to receive a nomination.[1] It was also entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
See also
- List of submissions to the 72nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Hong Kong submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ "Record 47 Countries In Oscar Contention" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 22 November 1999. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1999 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
External links
- Ordinary Heroes at IMDb
- Ordinary Heroes at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
- A review of Ordinary Heroes at loveHKfilm
- HK cinemagic entry
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Films directed by Ann Hui
- The Secret (1979)
- The Spooky Bunch (1980)
- The Story of Woo Viet (1981)
- Boat People (1982)
- Love in a Fallen City (1984)
- The Romance of Book and Sword (1987)
- Princess Fragrance (1987)
- The Swordsman (1990)
- Song of the Exile (1990)
- Zodiac Killers (1991)
- Summer Snow (1995)
- As Time Goes By (1997)
- Eighteen Springs (1997)
- Ordinary Heroes (1999)
- Visible Secret (2001)
- July Rhapsody (2002)
- Jade Goddess of Mercy (2003)
- The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (2006)
- The Way We Are (2008)
- Night and Fog (2009)
- All About Love (2010)
- A Simple Life (2011)
- The Golden Era (2014)
- Our Time Will Come (2017)
- Love After Love (2020)
- Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2020)
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