Control

Writer-director Kenneth Bi (Rice Rhapsody, The Drummer) delivers his most ambitious movie to date, the futuristic thriller Control, a big-budget, noirish mystery with multiple twists, set in an unnamed Asian metropolis. The film follows an insurance salesman, played by Daniel Wu, as he is coerced to commit criminal acts by an unseen villain, who sends instructions over the phone and has control of the city’s surveillance cameras. Even if not all of the plot elements work on a dramatic level, it’s fun to watch a plethora of Greater China stars like Taiwan’s Leon Dai and Hong Kong's Simon Yam as over-the-top nutty gangsters; Hong Kong veteran Kara Hui, as the mother of Wu's salesman (adding another loony character to her recent filmography); Mainland light comedienne Yao Chen (Love in Cosmo), as Wu’s one-time sweetheart; and her male compatriots Shao Bing, Feng Jiayi, and Hao Bojie as other victims of the mystery phone caller. Part of HONG KONG FOREVER! Presented with the support of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York.