''Anna Magdalena'' () is a

romantic fantasy Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre. One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

from Hong Kong, made in 1998 and starring

Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...

Kelly Chen Kelly Chen Wai-lam (born Vivian Chen Wai-man on 13 September 1972) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. She has been referred to as a "Diva of Asia" (). Chen has great success in the East Asian entertainment industry with nearly 20 mi ...

and

Takeshi Kaneshiro is a Japanese-Taiwanese actor and singer. Beginning his career as a pop idol, he has since moved his focus towards the film industry, where he achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim. He has worked with directors throughout East A ...

. It was the directorial debut of

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

Yee Chung-Man.

Title

The title refers to the keyboard piece Minuet in G Major believed to have been written by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's colleague, Christian Petzold, from the 1725 ''

Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach The title ''Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach'' (german: Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach) refers to either of two manuscript notebooks that the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach presented to his second wife, Anna Magdalena. Ke ...

''. Anna Magdalena was Bach's second wife. The music attracts the attention of Chan Kar-fu and Yau Muk-yan as Mok Man-yee plays it on her piano. The film score uses this theme repeatedly.

Synopsis

The film structure loosely follows that of the minuet: four "movements", which are announced by titles: two themes, a duet, and a set of variations. 1- Chan Kar-fu's (

) introduction 2- Yau Muk-yan's (

) effect on his life 3- Mok Man-Yee's (

) effect on their lives 4- Chan Kar-fu's literary vision of love. This fourth "movement" (Variations) is a wild fantasy on the previous material, based on the novel written by Kaneshiro's character: ''The XO Pair''. Unemployed aspiring writer Yau Muk-yan (Aaron Kwok) moves into the apartment of Chan Kar-fu (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a shy piano tuner. Both will soon fall in love with their new neighbor Mok Man-Yee (Kelly Chen).

Cast includes

as Yau Muk-yan *

as Mok Man-Yee *

as Chan Kar-fu *

Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the "God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and m ...

as Policeman (cameo) *

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...

as Editor (cameo) *

Anita Yuen Anita Yuen Wing Yee (born 4 September 1971) is a Hong Kong film and television actress. Pageant career At the age of 18, Yuen entered the Miss Hong Kong 1990 pageant. She was a heavy favorite to win the crown from the semifinal to final. During t ...

as Assistant Editor *

Josie Ho Josephine "Josie" Ho Chiu-yi (; born 26 December 1974) is a singer and actress from Hong Kong. She is the daughter of the Macao casino magnate Stanley Ho. Acting career She has played many roles, including portraying the parts of prostitutes, whi ...

as Cindy, Yau Muk-yan's former girlfriend *

Leo Ku Leo Ku Kui-kei is a Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was named as one of the "Five Fresh Tigers of TVB". Career ...

as Client in restaurant (cameo) *

Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai (; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network TVB over 18 years. He currently holds ...

as Building watchman (cameo) * Wei Wei as Mrs. Leung * Yu Wai-Lung as Child X * Yuki Lai as Child O * Jojo Hui as Masked woman Anna Magdalena at chinesemov.com
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Filming locations

* Hong Kong *

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

for the fantasy scenes

Reception

The film grossed

HK$ The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...

7.8 million in Hong Kong.

Awards and nominations

* 18th Hong Kong Film Awards: ** Nominated - Best Cinematography (

Peter Pau Peter Pau Tak-Hei (, born 1952) is a Hong Kong cinematographer and film director, best known to western audiences as for his work on ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 2000. One of Ho ...

) ** Nominated - Best Art Direction (Poon Chi-wai) ** Nominated - Best Costume Design (Ng Lei-lo) ** Nominated - Best Original Score (Chiu Tsang-hei) *1999

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards () are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in Hong Kong since 1994. The awards are determined by votes cast in three rounds after a substantial discussion session between the mem ...

** Won: Film of Merit

Title

Synopsis

Cast includes

Filming locations

Reception

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links