No Money No Talk

Ghost story from Hong Kong directed by Ng Wui.

The sophistication of 1950s Hong Kong cinema is vividly illustrated in this film of limited budget and resources. Cantonese opera star Sun Ma Si-tsang plays a country boy who looks exactly like Sun Ma and is asked by a rich girl to impersonate the star, to help her stage an opera. The self-reflexive humour generated by the absurd situation not only provides delicious parody of celebrity culture but also comments subtly on class inequality and the perils of urbanisation. Sun Ma, who also appears as himself in a stage performance, is complemented beautifully by the brilliant comedian Yee Chau-shui as his sidekick and Hung Sin Nui, another opera superstar, as the spoiled and precocious rich girl.

A concubine and a cousin attempt to poison a rich man's son to gain the inheritance. But he survives and must fight back.

A delicious comedy from Union Film, Money, traces the journey of a bag of cash from a bank robbery. The humour switches between the witty and the absurd, offering a biting examination of human nature when men and women are confronted with the chance of unearned wealth.

Directed by Wui Ng.

As the Cantonese 'Jane' Bond films evolved, the genre became less Bond-like, cutting down on the staging of fights and the flaunting of secret weapons. The heroine(s) remained an action figure, complete with quick wits and agile prowess, but the stories increasingly took on the jewel theft plot and the twilight world of decadent deviance. The Mysterious Sisters is no exception as director Ng Wui renders high class thefts in the style of the classic French film Rififi, and long stretches of action that unfold without dialogue.

Hong Kong comedy film.

A prodigal son is married to a woman his mother dislikes. The wife is then expelled from the family circle and forced to become independent.

After seeing a friend of his boss' son adopted over his promised promotion with connections, Shrimp's father vows to get Shrimp a place in a prestigious school and a chance to make friends with the rich. This poignant father-son comedy shows a parents' willingness to carve out a good future for their children by any means necessary.

Comedy from Hong Kong directed by Ng Wui.