“Mad Fate”, directed by Cheang Pou Soi, tells the story of a fortune telling master (Gordon Lam) who is dedicated to help a woman solve a murder.
HKIFF47 Spotlights Soi Cheang As Filmmaker-In-Focus
The 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF47) will honour Soi Cheang as this year’s Filmmaker-in-Focus.
One of Hong Kong’s most stylish and formidable directors, Cheang joins an illustrious and growing list of recent HKIFF Filmmakers-in-Focus, including Sandra Ng, Stanley Kwan, Michael Hui, Sammo Hung and Brigitte Lin.
Returning to its traditional dates after last year’s postponement, HKIFF47 will take place from 30 March to 10 April. At the centre of this year’s cinephile extravaganza is the showcase of Cheang’s 12 seminal works, the publication of a commemorative book and, in collaboration with long-term festival partner #Moleskine, the release of a limited edition notebook. Cheang will also attend a Face-to-Face session to share his insights and vision with the public.
https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/mad ... 97.articleAlas, the chaotic plot and flabby structure of the screenplay, which Yau co-wrote with Melvin Li, places Mad Fate light years from Yau’s best work for To, or Soi’s own career peaks so far in atmospheric actioners like Accident or Motorway.
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Some dodgy effects work is at its most absurd in an animatronic cat – one so clearly fake we guess it’s meant to raise a laugh. The fact that we’re not actually sure is just one of the many tonal wobbles in a film that is saved only by some lovely camerawork by veteran Hong Kong DoP Cheng Siu-keung and by the performance of relative newcomer Lokman Yeung who manages to bring some real pathos to a difficult, underwritten role.
