Lifeline

This film was acquired locally in 2009.

In its day, Shaw Brothers was the dominant film company in Hong Kong. Its collections are plentiful, and in good condition. Celestial Pictures, which purchased the Shaw Brothers Film Library, has been digitally restoring their collection since 2002, for video discs distribution. In 2009, Celestial transferred over 700 film prints and tens of thousands of artefacts and materials to the Archive for preservation. On that occasion, the Archive held a grand transfer ceremony to acknowledge Celestial's staunch support.

A squad of firefighters nicknamed ‘the unlucky ones' is assigned a new commander. From conflict to cooperation, they gradually learn to work together. Meanwhile, many of them face personal problems: the sudden appearance of the captain's ex-wife who is unwilling to take care of their daughter, a female captain contradicting her husband's will and refusing to get pregnant, a firefighter crushing on a doctor on a rebound relationship. This is not just a collection of stories about a few firefighters, but rather Johnnie To's ode to these life-saving heroes. There are many Hong Kong films about the police. Perhaps due to the massive production costs and limited resources, there are seldom films about firefighters. The realism and level of detail in the fires are breathtaking, luring the audience to experience the thrills of life and death with the firefighters. In the days when computer special effects were still far from commonplace, this film was considered to be a real feat.

Date	Time	Venue
25/9/2021 (Sat) #	5:00pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

# Post-screening talk with Thomas Shin

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.

Back to Index