Anna Magdalena (Chinese: 安娜瑪德蓮娜) is a 1998 Hong Kong romantic fantasy comedy film starring Aaron Kwok, Kelly Chen and Takeshi Kaneshiro. It was the directorial debut of production designer Yee Chung-Man.
| Anna Magdalena | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Yee Chung-Man |
| Written by | Ivy Ho |
| Produced by | Claudie Chung |
| Starring | Aaron Kwok Kelly Chen Takeshi Kaneshiro |
| Cinematography | Peter Pau |
| Edited by | Maurice Lee[1] |
| Music by | Chiu Tsang-hei[1][2] |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Golden Harvest |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes[4] |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Box office | HK$7,805,160 |
Title
editThe title refers to the keyboard piece Minuet in G Major believed to have been written by Johann Sebastian Bach's colleague, Christian Petzold, from the 1725 Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach.[1] Anna Magdalena was Bach's second wife. The music attracts the attention of Chan Kar-fu and Yau Muk-yan as Mok Man-yee plays it on her piano. The film score uses this theme repeatedly.
Synopsis
editThe film structure loosely follows that of the minuet: four "movements", which are announced by titles: two themes, a duet, and a set of variations.[1] 1- Chan Kar-fu's (Takeshi Kaneshiro) introduction 2- Yau Muk-yan's (Aaron Kwok) effect on his life 3- Mok Man-Yee's (Kelly Chen) effect on their lives 4- Chan Kar-fu's literary vision of love.[5] This fourth "movement" (Variations) is a wild fantasy on the previous material, based on the novel written by Kaneshiro's character: The XO Pair.[2]
Unemployed aspiring writer Yau Muk-yan (Aaron Kwok) moves into the apartment of Chan Kar-fu (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a shy piano tuner. Both will soon fall in love with their new neighbor Mok Man-Yee (Kelly Chen).
Cast includes
edit- Aaron Kwok as Yau Muk-yan
- Kelly Chen as Mok Man-Yee
- Takeshi Kaneshiro as Chan Kar-fu
- Jacky Cheung as Policeman (cameo)
- Leslie Cheung as Editor (cameo)
- Anita Yuen as Assistant Editor
- Josie Ho as Cindy, Yau Muk-yan's former girlfriend
- Leo Ku as Client in restaurant (cameo)
- Eric Tsang as Building watchman (cameo)
- Wei Wei as Mrs. Leung
- Yu Wai-Lung as Child X
- Yuki Lai as Child O
- Jojo Hui as Masked woman
Filming locations
editReception
editThe film grossed HK$7.8 million in Hong Kong.[4]
Awards and nominations
edit- 18th Hong Kong Film Awards:[2]
- Nominated - Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
- Nominated - Best Art Direction (Poon Chi-wai)
- Nominated - Best Costume Design (Ng Lei-lo)
- Nominated - Best Original Score (Chiu Tsang-hei)
- 1999 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
- Won: Film of Merit
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e chinesecinemas.org
- ^ a b c lovehkfilm
- ^ a b Allmovie
- ^ a b hkcinemagic
- ^ dragonsdenuk Archived 26 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Anna Magdalena at HKMDB
- ^ Anna Magdalena at chinesemov.com
External links
edit- hkcinemagic entry (includes trailers)
- lovehkfilm entry
- chinesecinemas.org entry (detailed review)
- fareastfilms
- Russian film review (includes pictures)
- brns entry (more pictures)
- Soundtrack listing
- Anna Magdalena at IMDb