Viva Erotica! (1996)



	Viva Erotica!		Return to Review Archive - V
	\| review \| awards \| availability \|		Leslie Cheung directs Shu Qi
	Year:	1996
	Director:	Derek Yee Tung-Sing, Law Chi-Leung
	Cast:	Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing, Karen Mok Man-Wai, Shu Qi (Hsu Chi), Law Kar-Ying, Tsui Kam-Kong, Paul Chun Pui, Allen Ting Chi-Chun, Lau Ching-Wan, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Peter Ngor Chi-Kwan, Arthur Wong Ngok-Tai, Teddy Chan Tak-Sum, Joe Cheung Tung-Cho, Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu, Yuen Bun
	The Skinny:	Ambitious comedy/drama from Derek Yee may fall short of its lofty goals, but it's interesting, entertaining and surprising nonetheless.
	Review by Kozo:	Derek Yee’s Category 3 opus about Category 3 filmmaking is an interesting, entertaining flick that seems to be saying a lot of complicated things when in fact it may not be. Leslie Cheung is Sing, a down-on-his-luck filmmaker who’s pressured into directing a Category 3 flick by his sycophant producer Chung (Law Kar-Ying) and the local triad film boss (Paul Chun). What Sing inherits is a mess as he tries to placate his doting girlfriend (Karen Mok) and then his bosses and his actors (Shu Qi and Tsui Kam-Kong). Most important, Sing must satisfy himself, but can he be artistically satisfied making a porn film? Things don’t go well until he refocuses his drive (thanks to all sorts of handy plot devices and self-realizations) and then things start to click. The message: even Category 3 filmmaking can be honorable and spiritual, and hey, porn filmmakers are people, too. Lau Ching-Wan appears as “Derek Yee,” jaded director and official fourth-wall joke. Does the film transcend it's rating to become art? Well, it succeeds as a satire but hedges near the end. The film seems to have tongue placed firmly in cheek (especially with the presence of many over-the-top dream sequences by Sing), but the finale suggests some sort of artistic triumph. Shooting sex like an 80’s music video doesn’t seem like art to me. It just seems...cheesy. (Kozo 1996)
	Awards:	16th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards • Winner - Best Supporting Actress (Shu Qi) • Winner - Best New Artist (Shu Qi) • Nomination - Best Picture • Nomination - Best Director (Derek Yee Tung-Sing, Law Chi-Leung) • Nomination - Best Actor (Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing) • Nomination - Best Supporting Actor (Tsui Kam-Kong) • Nomination - Best Original Music Score (Clarence Hui Yuen, Chiu Jun-Fun, Lau Cho-Tak) • Nomination - Best Song ("Sik Ching Nam Nui", performed by Karen Mok Man-Wai and Jordan Chan Siu-Chun)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Universe Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd.
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