The Taking of Tiger Mountain

Originally a ‘model play' film from the 1960s, Tsui Hark recreates the classic with Hong Kong aesthetics and 3D format. In post-war Northeast China, local gang leader (Tony Leung Ka-fai) dominates the Tiger Mountain. The People's Liberation Army sends special agent Yang (Zhang Hanyu) to infiltrate and destroy the gang from within. The story shows Tsui's fascination with survival and honour in a harsh world: Tiger Mountain is a place of evil, the gang agents of darkness, and the special forces the selfless vigilantes. Gang members may be cruel and coarse, but they have their own code of honour. The setting echoes the undercover plot of Hong Kong cinema. Villagers grouping to battle the gang and a female villager being taken as hostage are references to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954). With thematic elements from Hong Kong cinema, the use of new technologies, and his cinematic idiosyncrasy, Tsui injects new energy into a ‘model play' classic.

# Post-screening talk with Lau Yam

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