Utopians | |
---|---|
同流合烏 | |
Directed by | Scud |
Written by | Scud |
Produced by | Scud |
Starring | Adonis He Fei Jackie Chow Ching-Man Chin Fiona Wang Jie Shui William Lo Jung Jen Pao Ben Fu Wai Bun Eric Cheng Gavin Philip Che Eric Cheng Flora Cheung William Tang He Wong Vinci Wong Yin-chi Wong |
Cinematography | Nathan Wong |
Edited by | Matthew Hui |
Music by | Kawayama Ho |
Production company | ArtWalker Productions |
Distributed by | Muse Planning (Japan) Breaking Glass Pictures (USA) |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
Countries | Hong Kong, Taiwan, China |
Languages | Mandarin Cantonese English Japanese |
Utopians is a 2015 film by the Hong Kong film-maker Scud, the production-crediting name of Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung. It is the story of a university student who becomes deeply attracted to his (male) professor, and whose life changes as a result. [1] [2] The film received its world premiere on 31 October 2015 at the New Directors Film Festival in Japan. Utopians explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the sixth of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Permanent Residence in 2009, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013 and Thirty Years of Adonis (which features footage from Utopians [3] ) in 2017. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither have yet been released. [4] The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production. [4] [5] Utopians includes a scene in which the main character, played by mainland China actor Adonis He Fei, is shown completely naked stroking his erect penis as he sighs with pleasure until he ejaculates in the uncut version of the film. [6]
Utopians is a coming-of-age story about a young student, Hins Gao (Adonis He Fei), who unexpectedly finds himself deeply attracted to his male professor, Antonio Ming (Jackie Chow). Despite having had a conservative upbringing, Hins wants to get close enough to Ming to understand him. The experience transforms his life and comes to define his adult identity. [1] [2] The story is described as a "visually stunning paean to open love and pan-sexuality freely blending straightforward narrative and fantasy elements". [7]
The film's director, Scud, says that he drew inspiration for the film from the writings of Plato and the culture of Ancient Greece, which he describes as the "best era of mankind" when being gay was mainstream, and that "the dream of a utopian life" is one where education "serves to enhance love instead of forbid it", and that this became clear to him ever since he was aware of the sexual alternatives available. [1]
Scud says that he fell into depression after making his fifth film, Voyage, and was considering ending his career. But one day a 19-year-old boy came to him and talked about his story of having fallen in love with a policeman, and about a Japanese writer whose work Scud had read extensively when he was younger. He felt his next film should pay tribute to the period of enlightenment brought about by great philosophers and artists. [1]
Scud says that Utopians took only weeks to write and shoot. He also experimented with a more "democratic" method of film-making by consulting the cast on the roles they most preferred to take and encouraging them to resolve matters among themselves, much like the situation in ancient times. [1]
Casting was conducted openly in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, with over 300 attending in Hong Kong on a particularly stormy day. The film's leading man, Adonis He Fei, is an actor from mainland China. His agent provided a resume so that He could fit Utopians into his busy filming schedule. [1]
In the movie four languages are spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and English. Even though much of the film is centered around Hong Kong, the main characters speak Mandarin-Chinese among each other, e.g. Hins, his mother, his girlfriend and Ming. The other languages are spoken in much shorter segments. This multitude of languages is also reflected in the transcription of the Chinese characters of the title (Chinese :同流合烏) given by the producer which is Cantonese and reads tung lau hap woo, whereas one would expect a transcription in Mandarin pinyin for such a mostly Mandarin spoken movie which would be tóng liú hé wū.[ original research? ]
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of political and economic freedom than mainland China and Taiwan, and developed into a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world.
Cantonese is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. It is the traditional prestige variety of the Yue Chinese group, which has over 82.4 million native speakers. While the term Cantonese specifically refers to the prestige variety, it is often used to refer to the entire Yue subgroup of Chinese, including related but partially mutually intelligible varieties like Taishanese.
Written Cantonese is the most complete written form of Chinese after that for Mandarin Chinese and Classical Chinese. Written Chinese was originally developed for Classical Chinese, and was the main literary language of China until the 19th century. Written vernacular Chinese first appeared in the 17th century, and a written form of Mandarin became standard throughout China in the early 20th century. Cantonese is a common language in places like Hong Kong and Macau. While the Mandarin form can in principle be read and spoken word for word in other Chinese varieties, its intelligibility to non-Mandarin speakers is poor to incomprehensible because of differences in idioms, grammar and usage. Modern Cantonese speakers have therefore developed new characters for words that do not exist and have retained others that have been lost in standard Chinese.
Anthony Wong Yiu-ming is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and political activist. He rose to prominence as the vocalist for the Cantopop duo Tat Ming Pair during the 1980s before embarking on a solo career. He also performed and collaborated with the theatre group Zuni Icosahedron. Wong is the director for music production company People Mountain People Sea. He also co-founded the LGBT rights organization Big Love Alliance and the non-profit charitable organization Renaissance Foundation.
This is a list of films featuring the Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. There are 123 in total. Where possible alternative titles have been included, particularly the official English language titles or literal translations.
The House of 72 Tenants (七十二家房客) is a 1973 Hong Kong film directed by Chor Yuen. It is a remake of a 1963 Chinese film of the same name. It was the top box office film of 1973 in Hong Kong, surpassing Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon.
A Moment of Romance is a 1990 Hong Kong action romance film directed by Benny Chan, produced by Johnnie To, and starring Andy Lau, Jacklyn Wu and Ng Man-tat. For his performance in the film, Ng was awarded Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Annie Wu is a Taiwanese actress and model.
City Without Baseball is a 2008 Hong Kong drama film starring Ron Heung and other members of the Hong Kong National Baseball Team. It is directed by South African-born Hong Kong filmmaker Lawrence Ah Mon, about a city where baseball is almost unknown, and where the team plays to empty stadia.
Dr Law Kar-yingBBSMH is a Hong Kong Cantonese opera singer and actor.
Permanent Residence (永久居留) is a 2009 Hong Kong film starring Sean Li and Osman Hung. It was directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Danny Cheng, also known as Scud. The film explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society, in an unusually open, convention-defying way, and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the second of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013, Utopians in 2015 and Thirty Years of Adonis in 2017. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither has yet been released. The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.
Amphetamine is a 2010 Hong Kong film starring Byron Pang and Thomas Price. It revolves around the story of an ethnic Chinese fitness trainer, Kafka, who meets Daniel, a business executive. The film is directed by acclaimed Hong Kong Chinese filmmaker Scud, the production-crediting name of Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung. It was nominated for a Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival of 2010. It explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society in an unusually open, convention-defying way, and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the third of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Permanent Residence in 2009, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013, Utopians in 2015 and Thirty Years of Adonis in 2017. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither have yet been released. The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.
Scud is the professional name of Guangzhou, China-born Hong Kong film producer, screenwriter and film director, Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung. He says that he chose the name "Scud" to match his Chinese name, which translates in English as "Scudding Clouds". His films explore somewhat taboo themes within Hong Kong cinema, including same-sex relationships and drug-taking. His film-making style eschews cynicism or gritty realism, and embraces an acceptance of the life choices made by his characters, rather than a search for "solutions". Scud has cited Pier Paolo Pasolini, Yukio Mishima, Pedro Almodovar and Peter Greenaway as directors who have influenced his work.
Love Actually... Sucks! is a 2011 Hong Kong movie, directed by Hong Kong Chinese film producer Scud. The film's title is a humorous wordplay on the romantic comedy film Love Actually, as it deals with similar complicated and interconnected relationships. It was released at the 47th Chicago International Film Festival, in October 2011. It explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society, in an unusually open, convention-defying way, featuring frequent full-frontal male and female nudity. It is the fourth of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Permanent Residence in 2009, Amphetamine in 2010, Voyage in 2013, Utopians in 2015 and Thirty Years of Adonis in 2017. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither have yet been released. The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.
Drunken Master III is a 1994 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lau Kar-leung and starring Andy Lau, Michelle Reis, Willie Chi, Simon Yam, Lau Kar-leung, Adam Cheng and Gordon Liu. This film was quickly produced after director Lau and Jackie Chan fell out on the set of Drunken Master II with the style of action and Lau decided to produce a more authentic entry in the Drunken Master film series. Despite the title, Drunken Master III is not a sequel to the Drunken Master film series and is widely considered an imitator.
The Thunderstorm is a 1957 Hong Kong drama film directed by Ng Wui and starring Bruce Lee based on the play Thunderstorm by Chinese dramatist Cao Yu. Originally filmed and released in Cantonese in 1957, The Thunderstorm was dubbed into Mandarin for re-release during the 1970s in Hong Kong when Lee shot to superstardom during the time when Mandarin films dominated Hong Kong cinema.
Voyage is a 2013 film by the acclaimed Hong Kong film-maker Scud, the production-crediting name of Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung. It is described as "a tragic story about love, fate and the struggle of losing loved ones", and received its world premiere on 20 October 2013 at the Chicago International Film Festival. It was filmed in Hong Kong, Mongolia, Malaysia, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, and is the director's first film partially made outside Asia, and also his first to be filmed mostly in the English language. It explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society in an unusually open, convention-defying way, and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the fifth of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Permanent Residence in 2009, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Utopians in 2015 and Thirty Years of Adonis in 2017. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither have yet been released. The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.
Speechless is a 2012 Hong Kong — mainland China film, directed by Simon Chung, about a mute Frenchman who is found naked by the banks of a river in Wuhan in mainland China. He is rescued and sent to a local hospital where he is treated by a nurse who cares for him and later discovers the secrets of his past.
Chan Yat Ling, known in the West as Isabel Chan or Yat Ling Chan, is a Chinese actress based in Hong Kong. Chan Yat Ling is the Cantonese equivalent of her Mandarin Chinese name. She has been active as a Cantonese language performer since 1998 and has taken part in films, radio, television and advertising work. She was featured in several films directed by Pang Ho-Cheung, including the romantic comedy, Love in a Puff.
Thirty Years of Adonis, is a 2017 film by the Hong Kong film-maker Scud, the production-crediting name of Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung. It is a story of a young man who is a Beijing Opera actor. He decides to pursue acting, and soon becomes a commercial sex worker for men and women. The movie explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the seventh publicly released film by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Permanent Residence in 2009, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013, and Utopians in 2015. The movie features footage from Utopians. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither have yet been released. The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.