''All About Ah-Long'' (,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

title:又見阿郎) is a 1989 Hong Kong family

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

Johnnie To Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and film producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in ...

and starring

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...

and

Sylvia Chang Sylvia Chang (born 21 July 1953) is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director. In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2018, she was one of the jury members of the main competition ...

, who also serve as the film's storywriters.

Synopsis

plays Ah-Long, a single father trying to raise his son, Porky (Huang Kun-Hsuen), on a low-income lifestyle. Ah-Long works as a truckdriver at a construction site. The son's real mother, Por-por, who is Ah-Long's ex-girlfriend (played by

) left him ten years ago for the United States after a lovers' spat. Ten years ago, Por-por had become Ah-Long's lover despite her mother's objections. As Por-por was giving birth in the hospital, Ah-Long was involved in illegal racing. Ah-Long was put behind bars. Por-por's mother lied to her and told her that her baby did not survive. Por-por was devastated and left for the United States to become a director. It is now ten years on. Por-por returns from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with a boyfriend to shoot a video commercial. Life is hard for both Ah-Long and Porky but Porky manages to do well in school. An audition is held for a video commercial and the advertising company wants to engage Porky. Ah-Long visits the advertising company's office and finds out that Por-por is in charge. He is dismayed to discover that Por-por has a boyfriend. Por-por is all business-like because she does not realise at that stage that Porky is in fact her own son. However Por-por instantly feels an affinity to Porky. Por-por eventually finds out that Porky is her son. Por-por begins to bond with her son that she never knew. Por-por wants to reunite with her son. During an argument Porky tells Ah-Long that he is dismayed at his life. Porky says that he wants to go live with his mother. Ah-Long sends Porky to stay with Por-por for a while. As Ah-Long and Por-por slowly get reacquainted, Ah-Long is happy and thinks that Por-por wants to rekindle the relationship. Ah-Long returns a bracelet to Por-por to imply that he is interested in restarting the relationship. Por-por reveals that she wants to bring Porky back to the United States, shattering Ah-Long's dreams of reconciliation. Ah-Long decides to try his luck at the motorbike racing competition. Ah-Long is determined to win the motorbike race to give his son a better future. Por-por's boyfriend purchases an air ticket for Por-por to return to the United States immediately. The next morning, as the motorbike race is about to begin, Ah-Long steels himself at the starting line. Por-por appears at the race track and Ah-Long manages to see Por-por as the race begins. She is wearing the bracelet and Ah-Long knows that he has been forgiven. Ah-Long and Por-por both smile at each other. The motorbikes go around the race track without a conclusive leader. During the sixth lap Ah-Long takes the lead. Ah-Long loses control of his motorbike and crashes, causing the other riders to slow down or to crash as well. As he is struggling to get up, Ah-Long is hit by another motorbike. His head is bleeding but he is determined to complete the race. As the other motorbikes whiz by, Ah-Long picks himself up again and re-enters the race. Ah-Long is bleeding and his eyesight is starting to blur. Ah-Long manages to win. Ah-Long manages to see Porky and Por-por cheer for him as he passes them by. A moment later Ah-Long loses consciousness and plows into the side of the race track, and crashes. His motorbike catches fire. Ah-Long lies pinned under the motorbike and unable to move. Porky and Por-por run across the race track. Ah-Long reaches out to them before the motorbike explodes, killing him.

Cast

as Yeung Ah-Long *

as Sylvia Poon/Por-Por *

Ng Man-tat Richard Ng Man-tat (, 2 January 1952 – 27 February 2021) was a Hong Kong actor originally from Fujian. He was a veteran actor in the Hong Kong film industry, with dozens of awards, including Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Hong Kong Fi ...

as Dragon Ng * Huang Kun-Hsuen as Porky Yeung * Alan Ka-Lun Yu as Patrick Yu, Sylvia's new boyfriend *

Wong Tin-lam Wong Tin-Lam (1927–2010) was a Chinese screenwriter, producer, director, and actor, who has contributed to the Hong Kong cinema scene with a career spanning six decades. He has made films in Cantonese, Mandarin and Amoy dialect. Career Wong ...

as TV Producer * Joe Chu as Motorcycle racer * Tam Siu-hung as Sylvia's mother * Sze Kai-keung as Fat Man at tug-of-war * Tsui Oi-sam as Fat woman at tug-of-war * Lee Him-hung as Motorcycle racer * Chan Kwok-keung as Motorcycle racer

Reception

''All About Ah-Long'' was a critical and box office hit in Hong Kong, due to

's rise to popularity as an actor at the time. Chow won his third

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to an actor for the best performance by an actor in a leading role. The actor with most awards in this category is Tony Leung Chiu-Wai with 5 times. He is als ...

for his role in the film. The drama-based film is generally hailed as one of

's masterpieces due to its strong storyline and the excellent portrayal of the characters. To was known as a comedy/action film maker at the time and ''All About Ah-Long'' was a showcase of his versatility. Wong Kwan-yuen, who played Porky in the film, was really ten years old. Wong was born in 1978 and the film was launched in 1988. The film is also frequently cited as one of the milestones in

's career.

Awards and nominations

The movie was nominated for nine

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, act ...

s, but the film only managed to win the Best Actor award, for Chow Yun-fat, who was also nominated in the same category for ''

God of Gamblers ''God of Gamblers'' (; lit. ''God of Gambling'') is a 1989 Hong Kong action comedy-drama film written and directed by Wong Jing featuring an all-star cast led by Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, Joey Wong and Sharla Cheung. Plot Ko Chun is a world-fa ...

''.All About Ah-Long at chinesemov.com
/ref> *

9th Hong Kong Film Awards The 9th Hong Kong Awards ceremony, honored the best films of 1989 and took place on 8 April 1990 at Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The ceremony was hosted by Philip Chan and John Sham John Sham Kin-Fun (born 1952) i ...

**Won – Best Actor (

) **Nominated – Best Picture **Nominated – Best Director (

) **Nominated – Best Actress (

) **Nominated – Best Supporting Actor (Wong Kwan-yuen) **Nominated – Best Screenplay (Ng Man-fai], Philip Cheng) **Nominated – Best New Artist (Wong Kwan-yuen) **Nominated – Best Original Score (

Lo Ta-yu Lo Ta-yu (; born 20 July 1954), also known as Luo Dayou and Law Tai-yau, is a Taiwanese singer and songwriter. During the 1980s, Lo became one of the most influential Mandopop singer-songwriters with his melodic lyrics and love songs, and his ...

, Lo Sai-kit) **Nominated – Best Song ("Ah Long's Love Song" (阿郎戀曲), composed by Lo Ta-yu, lyrics written and performed by

Samuel Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Cantone ...

)

Filming locations

* Shatin Inn restaurant in

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ne ...

, where Ah-Long tells Sylvia that Porky is her son * The

Guia Circuit The Guia Circuit, or Circuito da Guia, is a street circuit located at the southeast region of the Macau Peninsula in Macau. It is the venue of the Macau Grand Prix and Guia Race of Macau. The circuit consists of long straights and tight corners ...

of the

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

was the setting for the final motorcycle race * Li Chit Street,

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

, since demolished by the

Land Development Corporation The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is a quasi-governmental, profit-making statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for accelerating urban redevelopment. History The authority's predecessor, the Land Development Corporation (土地發展� ...

References

External links

* *
HK Cinemagic entry

by Andrew Saroch, undated
Asia On DVD review
dated 16th Sept 2006

undated

undated {{Johnnie To 1989 films Hong Kong New Wave films Hong Kong drama films 1980s Cantonese-language films 1989 crime drama films Motorcycle racing films Hong Kong auto racing films Films directed by Johnnie To Films set in Hong Kong Films set in Macau 1980s Hong Kong films