Love in a Fallen City (film)
Encyclopedia
Love in a Fallen City is a 1984 Hong Kong film directed by Ann Hui
. It was adapted from the novella of the same name by Eileen Chang
, and produced by Shaw Brothers Studio
. The movie stars Chow Yun-fat
and Cora Miao
as the romantic leads.
The film followed in the trail of Hui's critically acclaimed Vietnam film Boat People
but was a much more modest commercial success. The movie raked in HK$8,134,727.http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6601&display_set=big5 Ann Hui adapted another Eileen Chang novel thirteen years later in Eighteen Springs
.
businessman based in Hong Kong, Fan Liu-yuan (Chow Yun-Fat), who is always surrounded by women, happens to visit Shanghai and becomes interested in Bai after chancing on her through mutual friends. Fan sees in Bai what many others don't and tries his best to make her fall in love again. A middle-aged couple tries to match make the two. Bai takes a gamble and decides to visit Hong Kong with the Japanese invasion of China
looming, willing to risk all just to get out of her awkward family situation, even though she fell for Fan, future was uncertain. It is only through surviving war-torn Hong Kong as civilian
s that the two realize that they truly love each other.
. It was nominated for a further three awards, which it did not win:
Costume designer Wong Yiu Lin was awarded the Best Costume Design award for the 1984 Golden Horse Awards.
Ann Hui
Ann Hui On-Wah is a Hong Kong film director, film producer and occasional screenwriter, one of the most critically acclaimed amongst the Hong Kong New Wave.-Early life:...
. It was adapted from the novella of the same name by Eileen Chang
Eileen Chang
Eileen Chang was a Chinese writer. Her most famous works include Lust, Caution and Love in a Fallen City....
, and produced by Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers Studio
The Shaw Brothers Studio , owned by Shaw Brothers Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution...
. The movie stars Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
and Cora Miao
Cora Miao
Cora Miao is a Chinese actress who worked predominantly in Hong Kong films. During her career she was nominated for four Hong Kong Film Awards and four Golden Horse Film Festival awards, winning one. She won Miss Photogenic award in Miss Hong Kong Pageant 1976. She is married to film director...
as the romantic leads.
The film followed in the trail of Hui's critically acclaimed Vietnam film Boat People
Boat People (film)
Boat People is an award-winning Hong Kong film directed by Ann Hui, first shown in theaters in 1982. The film stars George Lam, Andy Lau, Cora Miao, and Season Ma. At the second Hong Kong Film Awards, Boat People won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best New Performer, Best Screenplay,...
but was a much more modest commercial success. The movie raked in HK$8,134,727.http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6601&display_set=big5 Ann Hui adapted another Eileen Chang novel thirteen years later in Eighteen Springs
Eighteen Springs (film)
Eighteen Springs is a 1997 romance drama film directed by Ann Hui, starring Jacklyn Wu, Leon Lai, Anita Mui, Huang Lei and Ge You. It is a China-Hong Kong co-production based on the novel of the same name by Eileen Chang....
.
Plot
The film is set in 1940s Shanghai and Hong Kong. Bai Liu-Su (Cora Miao) is an introverted divorcée who has her fair share of misery after breaking up with her good-for-nothing husband. Her large, extended family feels she has shamed them through divorce. Her situation at home has become unbearable. A charming MalayanBritish Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
businessman based in Hong Kong, Fan Liu-yuan (Chow Yun-Fat), who is always surrounded by women, happens to visit Shanghai and becomes interested in Bai after chancing on her through mutual friends. Fan sees in Bai what many others don't and tries his best to make her fall in love again. A middle-aged couple tries to match make the two. Bai takes a gamble and decides to visit Hong Kong with the Japanese invasion of China
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
looming, willing to risk all just to get out of her awkward family situation, even though she fell for Fan, future was uncertain. It is only through surviving war-torn Hong Kong as civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s that the two realize that they truly love each other.
Awards
Love in a Fallen City won the Best Original Film Score (Lam Man-Yi) in the 1985 Hong Kong Film AwardsHong Kong Film Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
. It was nominated for a further three awards, which it did not win:
- Best Supporting Actress (Chiao Chiao)
- Best Cinematography (Anthony Hope)
- Best Art Direction (Tony AuTony Au-Biography:He was born in Guangdong. After graduating from high school in 1972, he engaged in fashion design. Afterwards, he studied film at the London Film Academy...
).
Costume designer Wong Yiu Lin was awarded the Best Costume Design award for the 1984 Golden Horse Awards.