The Mobfathers
New York Asian Film Festival 2016
June 22 - July 9, 2016
In this Hong Kong gangster flick with a hidden political message, a respected boss (Chapman To) and a flamboyantly gay upstart (Gregory Wong) face off in an election for control of the Triads, not realizing that their strings are being pulled by a shadowy committee of bosses led by the insidious Anthony Wong. Screening with: Killer and Undercover (Lau Ho-Leung, 11m).
The Mobfathers is the quintessential Hong Kong gangster flick, featuring disputes between larger-than-life bosses, vicious street fights employing arsenals of sharp metal objects, and a raspy-voiced master villain (Anthony Wong) ominously stroking a fluffy white pet. Chapman To (Infernal Affairs) stars as Chuck Lam, a mid-level gangster who is released from prison just as his Triad gang is about to elect a new Dragon Head. He enters the election against Wulf, Gregory Wong’s flamboyantly gay ex-cop upstart. As the two men face off for control of the Triads, they realize that their strings are being pulled by a shadowy committee of bosses led by Anthony Wong’s terminally ill godfather. The heady mix of vulgar entertainment and social commentary could only come from Hong Kong most politically astute chronicler, Herman Yau, who more than justifies its adults-only rating with splashes of sleaze and bloody violence. Presented with the support of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York.
Screening with:
Killer and Undercover
Lau Ho-Leung, Hong Kong, 2016, digital projection, 11m
Cantonese with English subtitles
On a secluded roadside one dark night, a man has been stabbed with a broken umbrella. Bleeding, with the handle still lodged in his stomach, he pleads with a taxicab driver to take him to the hospital. What follows is a darkly comic interlude of surprising missed connections.
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