''Mad World'' (

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 ...

: 一念無明) is a 2016 Hong Kong

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Wong Chun Wong Chun () is a Hong Kong director and screenwriter. His feature film debut ''Mad World'' (2016) was nominated for eights awards at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards. For the film, Wong won Best New Director at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards and 36t ...

and starring

Shawn Yue Shawn Yue Man-lok (born 13 November 1981) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. A former model, he has starred in many films, such as ''Jiang Hu'', ''Infernal Affairs II'', the ''Love in the Buff'' film series, ''Mad World'' and '' The Brink'', and ha ...

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 ...

Elaine Jin Elaine Yan-ling (; born 15 December 1954), also known as Elaine Kam, is a Hong Kong–Taiwanese actress. She began her career in Taiwan in 1973 before moving to Hong Kong in 1981. She has been nominated seven times in the Hong Kong Film Award ...

and

Charmaine Fong Charmaine Fong Ho-man () is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer-songwriter and film actress. In 2019, Fong released a new song " Explicit Content (人話)" which she composed. Its lyrics expressed her stance toward the anti-government protests exp ...

. It is Wong's directorial debut after winning the

First Feature Film Initiative The First Feature Film Initiative (; FFFI) is a scheme of the Hong Kong government, organised by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and supported by the Film Development Council, to nurture talents for th ...

. It was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...

, but it was not nominated.

Premise

Tung, a former financial analyst who is struggling with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, is placed in the custody of his truck-driver father after being dismissed from a mental health institution.

Cast

as Tung—a mentally ill stockbroker *

as Tung's father—a cross-town trucker who takes in his son *

as Tung's mother—mentally ill woman who was killed by her son *

as Jenny—Tung's former fiancee *

as Tung's younger brother (voice)

Development

Wong and Chan cited ''

Cageman ''Cageman'' () is a 1992 Hong Kong satirical comedy-drama film directed by Jacob Cheung. It won four awards at the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards held in 1993, including Best Film. Plot The movie explores the lives of tenants of the Wah Ha cage-h ...

'' (1992), about an impoverished community living in

cage homes A bedspace apartment (), also called cage home (), coffin cubicle, or coffin home, is a type of residence that is only large enough for one bunk bed surrounded by a metal cage. This type of residence originated in Hong Kong, and primarily exists ...

, as a major influence.

Production

The film was shot in 16 days, mostly on location in

subdivided flats Subdivided flats (also called subdivided units) are flats divided into two or more separate units to house more people. The flats' original partition walls are usually removed, and new ones are erected. New toilets and kitchens are installed, an ...

, and with a budget of around . As the film was selected by the First Feature Film Initiative (along with ''

Weeds on Fire ''Weeds on Fire'' (; literally "half a step") is a 2016 Hong Kong film adapted from the true story of the Shatin Martins, the first baseball team from Hong Kong to win a league. The film is directed by Steve Chan Chi-fat and stars Liu Kai-chi, ...

'' and ''Opus 1''), they were unable to procure outside investments. Actors

and

both waived their salaries when they joined the cast.

Release

The film premiered at the 2016

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

. It opened in Hong Kong cinemas on 30 March 2017. The film grossed almost 10x its budget in theaters. A fraction of the profits were used to compensate actors Eric Tsang and Shawn Yue, who waived their salaries, and the few crew members who worked for free.

Reception

Clarence Tsui for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote, "While not exactly a full-fledged success, ''Mad World'' offers an intimate showcase of a promising director, an actor who can do much more than he’s usually asked to, and a kind of non-manic storytelling that pays for those who are patient enough to pay attention." Edmund Lee of the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' gave the film 3.5/5 stars. He wrote, "''Mad World'' is not quite the profound reflection of reality its makers intended it to be, but despite its flaws this is a brave film." The film was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

, but it was not nominated.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* 2016 films Hong Kong drama films 2010s Cantonese-language films 2016 drama films Films about bipolar disorder Winners of the First Feature Film Initiative 2010s Hong Kong films {{2010s-HongKong-film-stub