''Chinese Odyssey'' is a 2002 Hong Kong

mo lei tau ''Mo lei tau'' () is a type of slapstick humour associated with Hong Kong popular culture that developed during the late 20th century. It is a phenomenon which has grown largely from its presentation in modern film media. Its humour arises from t ...

musical film written and directed by

Jeffrey Lau Jeffrey Lau Chun-Wai (; born 5 February 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. Lau is famous for writing and directing "mo lei tau" comedies. His comedies include '' A Chinese Odyssey'' (with Stephen Chow) and '' C ...

and produced by

Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...

. It stars

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place ...

Faye Wong Faye Wong ( zh, 王菲; born Xia Lin on 8 August 1969) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter. Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong. Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and her debut album '' Shirley Wong'' ( ...

Zhao Wei Zhao Wei (; born 12 March 1976), also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, businesswoman, film director, producer and pop singer. She is considered one of the most popular actresses in China and Chinese-speaking regions, a ...

and

Chang Chen Chang Chen (born 14 October 1976) is a Taiwanese actor. He was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His father Chang Kuo-chu and his brother Hans Chang are also actors. Career Chang started his film career at a very young age. He was then selected by a Ta ...

. It is a parody of the 1959

Huangmei opera Huangmei or Huangmei tone ( or , pinyin: or ) originated as a form of rural folk song and dance that has been in existence for the last 200 years and possibly longer. Huangmei opera is one of the most famous and mainstream opera in China (others ...

film ''

The Kingdom and the Beauty ''The Kingdom and the Beauty'' () is a 1959 Hong Kong musical-drama film directed by Li Han-hsiang. The film was set in Imperial China, directed by a Hong Kong based-Mainland Chinese director and produced by the famed Hong Kong Shaw Brothers fil ...

'', with virtually the same characters. It was released during the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

, following the practice of the Hong Kong movie industry to boost comedy ticket sales during the holiday season.

Plot

The film is set in

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, China. Li Yilong (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) is the town bully, known for his boorish manners and reckless attitude which have endeared him to no one, save his sister Feng (Vicki Zhao) who has a curious penchant for

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

. It is apparent early on that both these siblings are such misfits they have virtually no prospect of marriage. Faye Wong is cast as a runaway princess who is dressed as a man, a disguise which fools both Long and Feng. Long immediately decides that he likes his new-found friend so much that he will entrust his sister's hand in marriage to "him". The princess, of course, cannot marry another woman and tried to fend off Long's suggestions of a match; but also, she is attracted to Long. Emperor Zheng De (Chang Chen) also leaves his palace temporarily to search for his missing sister. He dresses like a commoner and by a twist of fate meets Feng. He is smitten with Feng, and begins to court her, while keeping his imperial identity secret from her. His motives for leaving the palace also included the fact that he is unhappy and lonely at court and wants to escape the smothering influence of the Empress Dowager (Rebecca Pan), his mother, who plays a dictatorial role in the actions of her son. A convoy of imperial guards try to protect him while he is out in town and bring the Emperor back to the palace, but unsuccessfully. The Princess is also assisted by her "fairy godmother" (Athena Chu) in marrying her match. The Empress Dowager hears of her wayward children and storms Long's house, where her children are holed up, only to hear that they wish to marry two commoners with unwholesome and eccentric tendencies. The Emperor is adamant about marrying Feng and the Empress Dowager relents, but Long is unable to pass a "ring test" to prove he is the destined one and the Empress Dowager forbids his marriage to her daughter. All ends well, however. After a separation, Long is enlightened by the "fairy godmother" and passes the "ring test". He is reunited with the Princess, the Empress Dowager accepts him, and happiness reigns.

Cast

– Li Yilong, a ne'er-do-well *

– Princess Wushuang, the emperor's sister *

– Phoenix, Li Yilong's sister *

–

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (; 26 October 149120 April 1521) was the 11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name Zhen ...

Athena Chu Athena Chu (born 25 October 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Zixia Fairy in ''A Chinese Odyssey'' (1995). Early life and education On 25, October 1971, Chu was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Her father was ...

– Amour Amour *

Rebecca Pan Rebecca Pan Di-hua (; also Poon Tik-wah, Pan Wan Ching) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Early life She was born in Shanghai on 29 December 1931 and moved to Hong Kong in 1949. Career Her singing career began in 1957. One of her songs, which ...

– the emperor's mother *

Eric Kot Eric Kot Man-fai is a Hong Kong singer and actor who studied in California and is the second youngest of three brothers. He formed a comedic music duo with fellow DJ and comedian Jan Lamb called Softhard in the 1980s. He also runs a fashion s ...

– the governor / bully *

Roy Cheung Roy Cheung Yiu-Yeung (; born 20 July 1963 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong-based actor, best known on-screen for his roles as Triad gangsters in a number of films. Early life and career As a child, Cheung idolized kung-fu legend Bruce Lee but nev ...

–

Zuo Lengshan The following is a list of characters from the wuxia novel ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' by Jin Yong. Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance Mount Hua Sect * Linghu Chong () is the happy-go-lucky protagonist of the novel. An orphan, he was r ...

– Principal Chen, Li Yilong's former teacher *

Ning Jing Ning Jing (; born April 27, 1972) is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for playing Milan in ''In the Heat of the Sun'' (1994), Danzhu in '' Red River Valley'' (1997), Angel in '' Lover's Grief over the Yellow River'' (1999) and Emp ...

– Purple Afterglow, Li Yilong's ex-girlfriend *

Jan Lamb Jan Lamb Hoi-fong (; born 28 January 1967) is a Hong Kong DJ, singer and actor. Lamb is the elder brother of Jerry Lamb and younger brother of singer and radio personality Sandy Lamb. He formed a comedic musical duo during the late 1980s with fe ...

– commentary (voice) * Chan Lung * Wong Wing-Ming * Zhong Hanhao

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was a success for Faye Wong.Stan Jeffries ''Encyclopedia of world pop music, 1980–2001'' 2003 p225 "In May 2002 Wong won a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling woman singer of Cantonese music, ... Shortly after a new album of orchestrated ballads, Chinese Odyssey, was released and kept Wong at the top of the Asian pop charts. Her career has encompassed more than 20 albums as she continues to record material for future release." Track list: # Intro () :04# Out of the palace () :30# Down to Jiangnan () :59(vocals by

and

) # Vicious mood () :09# The Large World is Smaller than Dust () :31# Xǐxīangféng (喜相逢; "Happy Gathering") :18by

and Tony Leung # Morning Dew () :35# Cherishing the Body () :10# Zuìyīchǎng (醉一場; "A Drunk Song") :24by

and Tony Leung # Happy Gathering Lalalalala () :16(vocals by

and

, " lalala" version of track #6) # Passing Glances () :54# Emotional Departure () :34# The Peach Flower Oath () :36# Wind and Thunder on the Plains () :31# Magical Power of Love () :23# Fate Decided this Life () :20# Drinking Alone () :11# Longing before the Shadows () :31# Tiānxià Wúshuāng Tiānla Dìla () :14by

and Tony Leung # Tiānxià Wúshuāng Nàgèla Xiǎngshuō Lalala () :20by

and

(spoof of track #19) # Here's You; Here's Me () :35# The World is Great () :10# Love will not Die () :31# Like the Previous Dust () :27# No Turning Back () :54# Happy Reunion under the Spring Flowers () :59(vocals by

and

) # Tinha Mouseung Tinla Deila () :15by

and Tony Leung (

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

version of track #19)

Awards

* 39th Annual

Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

** Nomination – Best Supporting Actress (

) ** Nomination – Best Art Direction ** Nomination – Best Costume Design * 22nd Annual Hong Kong Film Awards: ** Nomination – Best Actress (

) ** Nomination – Best Art Direction ( Tony Au Ting-Ping) ** Nomination – Best Costume Design ( William Cheung Suk Ping) ** Nomination – Best Original Film Score (

Frankie Chan Frankie Chan Fan-kei (born 1951) is a Hong Kong-born Chinese martial artist, actor, film director, producer, action director, and composer. Chan is best known to Hong Kong action cinema fans as the main antagonist in Sammo Hung's '' The Prodiga ...

, Roel A. Garcia) * 9th Annual

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 ...

: ** Winner, Best Picture ** Winner, Best Actress (Faye Wong)

References

External links