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Portland
Street Blues |
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review | awards | availability | also
see | |
Kristy Yeung and Sandra Ng |
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Year: |
1998 |
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Director: |
Raymond
Yip Wai-Man |
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Producer: |
Manfred
Wong |
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Cast: |
Sandra
Ng Kwun-Yu, Kristy
Yeung Kung-Yu, Alex
Fong Chung-Sun, Ng
Man-Tat, Shu Qi,
Vincent Wan Yeung-Ming, John
Ching Tung, Jun King-Man, Ng
Chi-Hung, Lee Siu-Kei,
James Wong Ka-Lok,
Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin,
Francis Ng Chun-Yu,
Ken Lo Wai-Kwong,
Jerry Lamb Hiu-Fung, Jason
Chu Wing-Tong, Kwan Hoi-San,
Bat Leung-Gum, Matthew
Chow Hoi-Kwong, Peter Ngor Chi-Kwan |
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The
Skinny: |
A
spin-off film that's actually better than the series that
spawned it. |
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Review
by Kozo: |
This official spin-off of the ever-popular Young and Dangerous
series focuses on the origin and exploits of Sup Sam Mui (Sandra
Ng), the lesbian leader of Portland Street who made her debut
in Young and Dangerous 4. Once upon a time, Sup Sam
Mui (meaning Sister 13) was a heterosexual street kid with
a low-ranking Hung Hung boy for a father (Ng Man-Tat). Through
a series of incidents - mostly harrowing ones - her path is
formed. Included among these is her first love, a Tung Sing
triad named Coke (Alex Fong), and her best friend, played
by Kristy Yeung Kung-Yu.
The plot and story are standard triad
stuff - it’s the acting and execution that stand out. Sandra
Ng is terrific as Sup Sam Mui, and the relationships are well-developed
and compelling. There is a certain freshness to the way the
film depicts the bisexual nature of Sup Sam Mui - it treats
her sexuality as a fact - and allows the relationships a uniqueness
and tenderness that steers clear of the “gay” label (though
it is implied that Sup Sam Mui became gay in part because
of an unrequited love for Coke).
The actors are uniformly strong,
especially Ng Man-Tat and Kristy Yeung (who is able to convey
whole ranges of emotion through her facial expressions). Part
of the fun in this picture is the proliferation of name dropping
and cameos by other Goo Wat Jai lumaries as Francis
Ng (as a young Ugly Kwan), Lee Siu-Kei, Ken Lo Wai-Kwong,
and Chan Ho-Nam himself, Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin.
Sadly, Ho-Nam’s entrance only serves
to underline the massive weakness of these movies - a reliance
on triad strength as a cure-all for the characters’ ills.
The film takes its time exploring character only to end with
a show of Hung Hing solidarity. The film ties up too conveniently,
but the character-driven elements of the film are top notch. (Kozo
1998) |
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Awards: |
18th Annual
Hong Kong Film Awards
• Winner - Actress (Sandra
Ng Kwun-Yu)
• Winner - Best Supporting Actress (Shu
Qi)
• Nomination - Best Supporting Actress (Kristy
Yeung Kung-Yu)
5th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Best Actress (Sandra
Ng Kwun-Yu)
Golden Horse Awards
• Winner - Best Supporting Actress (Shu
Qi)
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Availability: |
DVD
(Hong Kong)
Region 0 NTSC
Universe Laser
Widescreen
Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks
Dolby Digital 5.1
Removable English and Chinese Subtitles |
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Also
see: |
Young
and Dangerous (1996)
Young and
Dangerous 2 (1996)
Young and
Dangerous 3 (1996)
Young and
Dangerous 4 (1997)
Young and
Dangerous 5 (1998)
Born to be King (2000)
Young
and Dangerous: The Prequel (1998)
Those Were the Days
(2000)
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image courtesy
of Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd.
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| LoveHKFilm.com
Copyright ©2002-2017 Ross Chen
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