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ROLLING THE DICE
TheManfrom MacauIII seeks to revive the flagging tradition of Hong Kong films tailored for the Spring Festival. Xu Fan reports.
In the 1990s, when films from Hong Kong were at the peak of their popularity, watching a comedy with a glittering cast was a must-do activity during the Spring Festival.
But in the past couple of decades, that genre — tailored for the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday season — has gone cold.
An action-comedy vows to revive the tradition this year, at least on the mainland, where the market for films has recently grown significantly.
The Man from Macau III, directed by veteran Hong Kong-based filmmakers Wong Jing and Lau Waikeung, will be released in mainland theaters on Monday, the first day of the Chinese New Year.
The Man from Macau II, the last film in the series, had ended with the “suicide” of the gambling protagonist’s lover.
TheManfromMacauIII,
The coming film revolves around the question — was an ex-boyfriend involved in the woman’s death?
Led by superstar Chow Yun-fat, who plays the legendary gambler, the cast has other top names from Hong Kong’s showbiz, such as Andy Lau, Nick Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Carina Lau.
Mainland pop singer and actress Li Yuchun, who shot to fame with the reality TV show Super Girl, is also highlighted in the film’s promotional materials to draw younger fans to the cinemas.
Beginning in the 1980s, Hong Kong blockbusters made for the weeklong Spring Festival holiday were usually packed with action and slapstick humor.
In the genre’s golden era, locals would line up for long times outside cinemas to watch such films. The stars who dominated the Hong Kong box office back then were Chow, Stephen Chow and Jackie Chan, film researcher Wei Haijun writes in his book The Chronicle of Hong Kong Movies.
When the Hong Kong film industry’s lack of luster became somewhat noticeable around 2000, the big stars and filmmakers started to move toward mainland products.
“Most middle-aged Chinese have grown up with the collective memory of the Hong Kong classics, despite the fact that big-screen titles could be seen only through video tapes on the mainland in the 1990s,” Yu Dong, president and founder of Bona Film Group, said at a promotional event in Beijing on Jan 25.
With close connections to Hong Kong’s cinematic circles, Yu’s company is the main producer and distributor of the casino-themed The Man from Macau series.
He hopes the nostalgia and the appeal of the big stars will give the genre a fresh lease on life on the mainland.
The two previous films of the series were well-received by mainland moviegoers. The first installment earned 524 million yuan ($79.40 million) in 2014, and the second astoundingly overtook Jackie Chan’s Sino-US epic Dragon Blade to top the Spring Festival holiday charts last year by grossing 974 million yuan.
“The earlier figures give us confidence about the new film,” Yu says. “We also believe the gambler played by Chow Yun-fat will remind fans of the influential God of Gamblers series.”
Also directed by Wong, the smash hit God of Gamblers (1989) spawned a sequel and a prequel. The series that also stars Chow as the “gambling god”, with his sweeping hairstyle, made him the epitome of cool for Chinese fans. The two franchises have some overlapping content.
But despite the accumulated reputation, Wong says The Man from Macau III will likely be The Man series finale.
“I’ve never been so stressed in my whole career … the plots, characters and relationships will come to an end in the new movie,” says Wong.
The Monkey King 2 and Mermaid, two other films by Hong Kong directors, will also compete for the holiday box office when released on Monday.
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