As mentioned in my previous post, one of the movies that
I am most looking forward to this year is Heaven in the Dark, which stars my
idol Jacky Cheung reuniting with his July Rhapsody co-star Karena
Lam. I was actually drawn to this movie
from the beginning, prior to any filming even being done (so basically when the
‘concept’ for the movie as well as the leads were announced) – of course, a big
reason was due to Jacky, since it has been 6 years since he’s starred in a ‘main
lead’ role (last movie where he was officially lead was Crossing Hennessy in
2010…all the movies he’s been in since then have pretty much been either cameos
or one of the leads amongst a large group of similar level A-listers). But before I get labeled as a ‘crazy fan’
(probably too late for that, since I know some people have already labeled me
as such, lol), let me explain the other reasons why I’ve been so ‘obsessed’
with this movie from the beginning (as well as why the movie is at the top of
my ‘must-watch’ list this year).
Aside from Jacky, the second main reason is because July Rhapsody also
happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies. Even though this particular movie has nothing
to do with July Rhapsody per se (different scriptwriter, director, cast, production team, etc.), the ‘pairing’ of Jacky and Karena, the dark,
controversial theme, the ‘look and feel’ of the overall production, etc. are
interestingly similar (though it’s obvious that Heaven’s script is much
more complex – that is IF the script remained faithful to the original stage
play script written by Candace Chong). I
actually quite agree with one of the points stated in the East Touch article I translated below: that the story feels like a ‘continuation’ of
Jacky and Karena’s distant romance in July Rhapsody.
This leads me into yet another reason why I want to watch
this movie: the chemistry between Jacky
and Karena. Whether in July
Rhapsody or in the music videos that they filmed together for Jacky’s
songs (the most recent being the ones last year from Jacky’s latest Mandarin
album released in December 2014), Jacky and Karena continue to have great
chemistry on-screen. I honestly feel
that if it were any other pairing with the same story, I may not feel as
excited about the movie as I am currently.
Another reason to watch is, not surprisingly, the
supporting cast. With the exception of
perhaps 1 or 2 artists, the supporting cast is comprised of artists I enjoy
watching, so that definitely makes it an easier sell for me. Oh, by the way, I’ve been hearing nothing but
praise for Anthony Wong’s performance in this movie, even though he only has a
few scenes and can pretty much be considered a cameo appearance only. The court scene in the movie (reference the
article below to understand what I’m talking about) is a ‘must-watch’ – I was
told that Anthony’s acting in that scene is beyond stellar (pretty much blows
everyone out of the water, including the leads). Of course, I absolutely believe it, since I
have confidence in Anthony’s acting skills, but I am still going to wait and
see for myself once the movie comes out.
Yet another reason I want to watch – and this is an
important reason – is due to this movie being adapted from a famous stage
play. I’ve always had a liking for
theater and stage plays, it’s just that here in the U.S., it’s a lot more
difficult to watch stage plays unless you live in a place like New York where
the theater business thrives. I try to
catch a few local productions whenever I can, but unfortunately, the ‘big name’
productions are seasonal (plus located in far away cities) and the lesser known
productions only pop up once in awhile.
Even though I don’t live in HK, I do try to keep up with the theater
scene as much as I can -- which shouldn’t be a surprise given my enjoyment of
theater for one, but also the fact that many HK movie and television artists I
follow also participate in theater. If I
ever get the chance to watch the original stage version of this production, I’m
pretty sure I would enjoy it. In the
meantime though, I will settle for watching the movie version. [Sidenote:
Candace Chong actually published 5 of her most famous stage play scripts
into a book that was released last year -- I already ordered the book and am
just waiting for it to get here. I am
definitely planning on reading the original stage play script in conjunction
with watching the movie, I just haven’t decided whether I’m going to read first
or watch first – I guess it depends on when the book actually gets here].
Since the movie is scheduled to premiere in Hong Kong on
3/24 and in Taiwan on 4/15, there will undoubtedly be more promotional events /
material for the movie as the dates get closer.
I will continue to update my blog with more information on the movie as
I see necessary. For now though, I’ve
included an article below from East Touch magazine that actually does a pretty
good job of describing what the movie is about.
There are spoilers in the article though, so please read at your own
risk.
On a related note, I do want to say a few things about the HKFA Best Actor and Best Actress nominations that Jacky and Karena received. For those wondering how a movie that has not been officially released in HK yet can still garner nominations at HKFA -- well, there was actually a 'sneak preview' limited release of the movie in HK theaters back in December (I think there were only 5 showings of the movie over the span of a few days). This was done in order to 'qualify' the movie for this year's HKFA -- some feel it's a bit of a rush and perhaps they should've waited until next year to participate in HKFA. To be honest, I kind of have mixed feelings in regards to this. On the one hand, I am of course tremendously happy for Jacky and there is no doubt that he would've gotten nominated for his performance in this movie anyway, regardless of whether it's this year or next year. This is Jacky's 6th HKFA Best Actor nomination -- previous nominations were for Bullet in the Head (1991), To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui (1995), July Rhapsody (2002), Golden Chicken 2 (2004), Crossing Hennessy (2011). While I have full confidence in Jacky's performance, the competition for Best Actor this year is actually VERY strong (the other 4 nominees include Andy Lau, Tony Leung Kar Fai, Nick Cheung, and Aaron Kwok -- all reputable actors who have won the Best Actor award before). Some people have said that HKFA should give the award to Jacky this year since he's the only one out of the 5 who has never gotten the award, but to be honest, as a fan, I definitely DON'T want that...what I want is for Jacky to be recognized for his acting merit and for him to win the award because he deserves it, NOT because of sympathy (plus I know for a fact that's what Jacky wants as well -- he has said in the past that acting is a secondary profession for him and if he hasn't gotten the Best Actor award yet, it's because he hasn't put enough effort and focus into his performance to deserve the award). In any case, I will absolutely be rooting for Jacky come April 3rd, even though I know his chance of getting the award is not tremendously strong....
Lastly, a FUN FACT about the movie: watch for a VERY BRIEF cameo appearance by Dayo Wong in the court scene -- he literally only appears for a few seconds so if you blink, you might miss him. He had visited the set due to being friends with some of the production team (plus he's one of Anthony Wong's good friends) and decided to do an 'ad hoc' appearance as an 'extra' (basically, one of the no name audience members sitting at the back of the court listening to the proceedings). If you watch the movie, pay attention to that scene and see if you can spot him (though of course, do it the second time around, since the first time you watch, you should be paying attention to the movie itself, LOL).
Heaven in the Dark (暗色天堂)
Cast: Jacky Cheung, Karena Lam, Anthony Wong,
Helena Law, Wong Hei, Edmund So, Catherine Chau, Michelle Wai
Director: Steve Yuen
Distributed by: Emperor Motion Pictures
Premiere date: 3/24/2016 in Hong Kong, 4/15/2016 in
Taiwan (not sure if this movie will be shown in Mainland or not)
Trailer (note that this is the first ‘official’ trailer
for the movie – as premiere date gets closer, there will undoubtedly be more
trailers released):
****
Article:
“A pair of lovers
who overstep the boundaries of love”
Source: East Touch Magazine
Article originally published February 3, 2016
Translated by: llwy12
14 years ago, in the movie July Rhapsody (男人四十),
the illicit love affair between teacher Lam Yiu Kwok (played by Jacky Cheung)
and his student Wu Choi Nam (played by Karena Lam) was heart-wrenching to
watch. As a teacher and husband, Lam
seemed to find himself slowly going down a path that he himself had once
despised, while Choi Nam, as the student, had no burdens at all and freely
sought after the excitement of loving the way she wanted to love. With Lam in a position that did not allow for
certain boundaries to be crossed, this teacher-student love relationship was
destined to fail.
14 years later, Jacky Cheung (張學友) and
Karena Lam (林嘉欣)
reunite once again, but this time, one plays a pastor while the other is a
believer in the faith he preaches. Without the burden of a ‘taboo’ relationship
like they had in July Rhapsody, Jacky and Karena are in the ideal position to
openly and freely develop a love relationship.
Unfortunately, their steps are
not aligned and both bear quite differing goals within their hearts. A passionate kiss that they thought would
help them break the ambiguity in their relationship turns into a regret that
ultimately ends in a life-changing fall from grace.
“A pair of lovers
who overstep the boundaries of love, at the same time it is easiest for them to
become enemies.” These lyrics from July
Rhapsody’s theme song seem especially fitting at the moment. Times have changed, our surroundings have
changed, our positions in life have changed – the one thing that hasn’t
changed: after 14 years, Jacky and
Karena continue to demonstrate [through their newest collaboration] that Love is Difficult (相愛很難).
Continuation of
distant romance
In 2002, both Jacky Cheung and Karena Lam received HK
Film Award nominations for their performances in July Rhapsody – in the
end, Karena was successful in winning both the Best New Artist as well as Best
Supporting Actress awards at HKFA. After
that, Jacky and Karena continued to pursue their separate paths [TN: Jacky continued with his music and movie
career while Karena also continued to film movies, but also left the industry
for a few years to get married and have children] and did not get the
chance to ‘cross paths’ again in movies.
It wasn’t until last year (2015), when Karena’s husband Steve Yuen (袁劍偉)
decided to try his hand at directing movies [TN: prior to this, Steve Yuen
was primarily a director of commercials and music videos], that the
opportunity came up for the two of them to collaborate again in his directorial
debut Heaven in the Dark (暗色天堂). Adapted from
renown playwright Candace Chong’s (莊梅岩) award-winning stageplay The French Kiss (法吻),
Heaven
in the Dark actually has nothing to do with July Rhapsody in terms of
story, characters, setting, plot, etc. – however, due to the chemistry between
Jacky and Karena, their reunion in this movie gives off the feeling that they
are continuing that distant romance from 14 years ago. Even though the movie has not officially
debuted in HK theaters yet [TN: the movie
premieres on 3/24], both Jacky and Karena have already earned HK Film Awards Best
Actor and Best Actress nominations once again for their performances. [TN: This year’s HKFA will take place on
April 3rd].
‘Re-trial’ of
buried memories
In Heaven in the Dark, Jacky takes on
the role of To Tin Ming, a pastor who is also the chief director of a major
international charitable organization for the HK region. With his eloquence in speaking as well as
dynamic personality, Pastor To is popular with the masses and can even be
considered a ‘celebrity’ of sorts.
Karena plays the role of Michelle, a young woman who takes up an
assistant position in Pastor To’s charity and also becomes one of his
congregants after being attracted to his charm and charisma. Both eventually develop feelings for each
other, though neither one pursues the relationship further. Later on, Pastor To decides to accept the
position of chief director for the entire Asian region, a position based in
England. On the night of the farewell
dinner that Pastor To’s colleagues throw for him, he and Michelle go for a
drive at the Peak and before they leave, they decide to finally give in to
their feelings and share a passionate kiss together. Unfortunately, this one kiss changes both of
their lives forever. The next morning,
Michelle goes to the police station and files a sexual harassment complaint
against Pastor To, who is completely shocked at the sudden turn of events. The two end up arguing the case in court and
after an intense, emotionally draining trial, Pastor To loses the case – with
his reputation tarnished, he eventually leaves behind everything he has,
including his position as a pastor.
5 years later, Pastor To and Michelle bump into each
other again – this chance meeting rekindles long-buried memories of that
fateful night where one kiss changed their lives. After a tense verbal exchange, Pastor To and
Michelle are eventually able to piece together the scattered memories from that
night. Through a psychological ‘re-trial’ of those memories, the two of them
discover the shocking truth of what actually happened that night – an ‘answer’
that no court would’ve been able to give them.
Truth revealed 5
years later
In essence, the entire premise of the movie centers
around the question of what truly happened the night of that fateful kiss
between Pastor To and Michelle. How is
it that the situation went from two potential lovers acting on their mutual
feelings for each other to both parties becoming enemies overnight? Both the original stage play and the movie
begin in a similar manner: the setting
for the opening sequence is 5 years after the conclusion of the sexual
harassment court case against Pastor To.
Michelle is married to another pastor and has a child, while Pastor To
-- whose reputation was severely damaged by the guilty verdict handed down by
the courts – is no longer able to serve in the clergy and has become a
businessman instead. The story is
structured in a way that requires audiences to tear away one layer after
another in order to find out what truly happened that night. From Michelle’s point of view, she is
unwavering in her belief that the kiss was forced upon her and she did not
consent. However, from Pastor To’s
perspective, he remembers that there was consent from both sides, but the
influence of alcohol that night caused his memory to be hazy and therefore he
could not be 100% sure. For both, the
situation continued to be a thorn in their hearts for 5 years, despite the
surface appearance of both having moved on with their lives. A pair with the potential to become lovers,
yet due to crossing the boundaries of love, they can only become enemies in the
end.
****
Caption box:
Background on
renowned playwright Candace Chong’s original stage play script
Heaven in the Dark is a film
adaptation of stage play The French Kiss, an award-winning
theater production written by one of HK’s most renowned playwrights, Candace
Chong. The stage play first debuted back
in 2005, right before the start of the Cultural Arts Festival. At that time, the play consisted of only 3
actors performing against a simple backdrop that remained the same throughout
the production -- majority of the plot was brought forth through the dramatic confrontation
scenes between the male and female leads.
Many theater critics have praised the ability of writer Candace Chong’s
meticulous and well-written dialogue to give the story a tightly intertwined,
layered effect. In addition, the
script’s vivid yet simultaneously tension-filled language successfully draws
out the complexity of the sexual harassment case in the story, yet at the same
time, does so in a subtle and unassuming manner. The production has won several
awards over the years, including 2 of its most prestigious – awards for Best Script
and Top Ten Most Popular Stage Plays at the 15th annual Hong Kong
Drama Awards back in 2006.
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