''b420'' is a 2005

Hong Kong film The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of pol ...

directed by Mathew Tang. The film is set in Macau and is a comedy-drama. It is an independent film with a low budget. The tagline of the movie is "Before Twenty... Before Too Old". ''b420''s title is in reference to "before 20, before too old". According to Tang, "There's a big difference in life from when you're in a school uniform than when you're not." Starring Miki Yeung, Sam Lee, and Ben Hung Jin-Ming, the film tells the story of three adolescents as they become adults and what they think about death, love, and life.

Production

''b420'' grew out of Tang's project at the

City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...

School of Creative Media. Tang tried to secure backing from film studios but received conflicting rejections. While a studio told him the film was excessively "commercial", a second studio responded that the film was not sufficiently commercial. Using nearly all of his money, Tang chose to self-finance the film.

Cast

Cast and roles include: * Ben Hung as Simon * Sam Lee as Willy * Miki Yeung as Koey * Zeni Wong as Siu Wan

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' film critic Russell Edwards wrote, "Helmer's obvious talent and the first-rate perfs keep pic's tempo breezy, but the transition to fully-fledged drama (courtesy of a ransom scam at the three-quarter mark) is not entirely convincing. Similarly, minor plot strands which tie Koey's Web site buddies to the main drama are awkwardly executed."

Awards

The film was admitted by several international film festivals. It won the Grand Prix Award in the 19th Fukuoka Asian Film Festival, and was awarded Best Film in the 4th Viennese Youth International Film Festival. ''b420'' was one of the two opening films of the 2005 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.

References

External links