''Where the Wind Blows'' (Chinese: 風再起時), previously known as ''Theory of Ambitions'', is a 2022 Hong Kong

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

written and directed by

Philip Yung Philip Yung Tsz-kwong () is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and critic. Yung won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay at the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards for his film ''Port of Call'' (2015). Early life Philip Yung Tsz-kwong g ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

respectively as

Lui Lok Lui Lok (; born Lui Mo Lok (); 16 May 1920 – 13 May 2010) dubbed as 'The Five-Hundred-Million-Dollar Inspector', was a former Hong Kong Detective Staff Sergeant I. He became notorious for his acts of corruption during the 1960s to 1970s dur ...

and Lam Kong two notorious corrupt Hong Kong police officers during the 1960s. Originally set for release at the end of 2018, the film's release was delayed due to trouble getting approved by the National Radio and Television Administration. The film was scheduled to make its world premiere and open the 45th

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens around 230 films ...

on 1 April 2021, but was pulled from the lineup three days before. The film made its world premiere the following year and opened the 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival on 15 August 2022 instead. The film has yet to receive a wide release in theaters. ''Where the Wind Blows'' was selected as the Hong Kong entry for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor films released in 2022, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 12, 2023. Comed ...

Plot

(

) became a police officer in order to uphold justice. But the rampant corruption within the police force made it impossible for him to remain independent. As a result, he decides to make a name for himself within the police force by controlling organized crime. Nam Kong (

), who seems like gentleman on the surface, operates with a dagger under his cloak. He is socially active among the police force as well as in social circles, laying the groundwork for the empire of corruption he builds with Lui. Nam and Lui, the brains and the brawn working in perfect unison, respectively become Chinese Chief Detective of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon /

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

in 1962. They lord over organized crime, and lead tens of thousands of policemen. Nam has long seen through Lui's cynicism and naiveté, and has been plotting a hostile takeover of power. When Lui discovers that everything is not as he had imagined, he vows to forcibly regain controlling leadership from Nam.

Cast

(呂樂), Chief Detective Staff Sergeant of the

Royal Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

garrisoned in Hong Kong Island. *

as Nam Kong (南江), Chief Detective Staff Sergeant of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force garrisoned in Kowloon and the

Du Juan Du Juan (; born September 15, 1982, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese actress, model, and former ballet dancer. She remains the first and only East Asian model to be on the cover of ''Vogue Paris'' and has appeared on the cover of ''Vogue China ...

as Choi Chan (蔡真), Lui Lok's wife. *

Michael Hui Michael Hui Koon-man (born ; 3 September 1942) (also known as Mr Boo!) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, scriptwriter and director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers (together with Ricky, Sam, and Stanley) who were prominent figures ...

as George Lee (李子超), principal investigator of the

Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong) The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong was established by Governor Sir Murray MacLehose on 15 February 1974, when Hong Kong was under British rule. Its main aim was to clean up endemic corruption in the many departme ...

(ICAC). (special appearance) *

Jessie Li Jessie Li (; born 5 December 1992), known professionally as Chun Xia, is a Chinese actress. She is best known for starring in '' Port of Call'' (2015), which earned her a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress. Biography Li was born in Kunming. ...

* Patrick Tam as Yim Hung (嚴洪), Detective Staff Sergeant of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and a drug trafficker. * Michael Chow as Fatty Sam (肥仔森), Detective Staff Sergeant of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force garrisoned in

Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...

and

Mongkok Mong Kok (also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK) is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. Mong Kok is one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong. The area is characterised ...

. *Jeana Ho *

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 ...

Ron Ng Ron Ng Cheuk-hei (, born 2 September 1979) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, and former dancer. He first rose to popularity in the 2003 TVB drama ''Triumph in the Skies.'' He has since starred in several successful television series, most notably '' ...

Louis Cheung Louis Cheung (; born 11 January 1980) is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, and actor. He is an alumnus of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in acting. His first play was in 1997, and he has performed in a total of more than 20 ...

Maggie Cheung Ho-yee Maggie Cheung Ho-yee (; born 20 March 1969) is a Hong Kong actress. Career Maggie Cheung Ho-yee competed in TVB's 1994 Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant, reaching the final five but not placing. However she did gain a special award for best "po ...

Tse Kwan-ho Tse Kwan-ho (born 23 March 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, professionally also known as Gardner Tse. Originally a nurse, Tse Kwan-ho rose to prominence in the stage play ''The Mad Phoenix'' (), this was later remade into a feature film of the sam ...

*Lam Yiu-sing *

Chui Tien-you Chui Man-kin (徐文健, born May 16, 1983), better known as Chui Tien-you (徐天佑) or Tien You or "TY", is a Hong Kong actor, singer, writer and director. Early life Chui was invited by director Fruit Chan for a beverage commercial shootin ...

* Michael Ning * Cheung Siu-fai *Stephen Ho *Tai Po *Eddie Chan *

Lawrence Ko Lawrence Ko (; born 28 April 1977) is a Taiwanese actor. Ko made his film debut when he was four years old. He has had roles in the Edward Yang films ''A Brighter Summer Day'' (1991), ''Mahjong'' (1996) and '' Yi Yi'' (2000), as well as the f ...

Wan Yeung-ming Vincent Wan Yeung-ming (, born 2 February 1958 in Macau) is a Hong Kong actor. Filmography * '' Find Your Voice'' (2017) * ''Shock Wave'' (2017) * ''Guia in Love'' (2015) * '' Imprisoned: Survival Guide for Rich and Prodigal'' (2015) * ''IPCC Fi ...

*Belinda Yan *Rose Chan

Production

Development

The project was first announced at the 2017 Hong Kong Filmart in March 2017 slated to respectively be directed by and star Philip Yung and

, whom have both previously collaborated in the 2015 film, '' Port of Call''. In August 2017, it was announced that

has joined the cast, along with Patrick Tam and Michael Chow. Kwok, Leung, Tam and Chow will portray the "Four Great Sergeants" (四大探長) of Hong Kong who were notorious for accumulating mass wealth from corruption.

Filming

Filming for ''Where the Wind Blows'' began in October 2017. The film later held its production commencement ceremony press conference on 13 November 2017. Kwok, who portrays

in the film, has previously portrayed Lui's fictional son, Bill Lee, in the 1991 film, ''

Lee Rock II ''Lee Rock II'' is a 1991 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Lawrence Ah Mon and starring Andy Lau, Sharla Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Chingmy Yau. The film is a direct sequel to ''Lee Rock'' released earlier in the same year, which is inspired ...

'', which starred

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

as Lui.

Release

''Where the Wind Blows'' made its world premiere and opened the 46th

along with the film '' Warriors of Future'' on 15 August 2022. The film was originally set to be released globally by the end of 2018 with

Mei Ah Entertainment Mei Ah Entertainment Group Co., Ltd. () () is a major media distribution company in Hong Kong. History The company was established in 1984 in Kowloon Bay by Mr. Li Kuo Hsing, Hong Kong. During the 1980s, the Group's principal activities were t ...

handling the film's distribution and launching sales operations for the film at the 2017 American Film Market. However, the film's release was delayed as it was unable to get approval from the National Radio and Television Administration due the film's plot dealing with corrupt policeman and triads. The film was approved in late 2020 and was scheduled to make its world premiere as one of the two opening films of the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival on 1 April 2021, but had its screenings cancelled on 29 March at its producers' request, citing "technical reasons". The film released a trailer at a national theater promotional event in October 2021.

References

{{reflist 2022 films 2022 crime thriller films Hong Kong crime thriller films Police detective films 2020s Cantonese-language films Films based on actual events Films set in the 1960s Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong