MAD DETECTIVE A film by Johnnie To & Wai Ka Fai
TORONTO 2007 - SPECIAL PRESENTATION Johnnie To & Wai Ka-Fai present MAD DETECTIVE a film by Johnnie To & Wai Ka-Fai Hong Kong 2007 132 min Colour Dolby SRD Scope Cantonese With Lau Ching Wan Andy On Lam Ka Tung Kelly Lin
Production: China Star Entertainment Limited Unit 3409 Shun Tak Centre, West Tower, 168-200 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong Telephone: +852 2313 1888 Fax: +852 2191 9888 Website: http://www.chinastar.com.hk Email: movie@chinastar.com.hk Contacts Milkyway Image (HK) Ltd. Milkyway Building, 1/F, 77 Hung To Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Telephone: +852 2718 8929 Fax: +852 2343 1271 Website: www.milkywayimage.com Distribution Asia: China Star Entertainment Limited Unit 3409 Shun Tak Centre, West Tower, 168-200 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong Telephone: +852 2313 1888 Fax: +852 2191 9888 Website: http://www.chinastar.com.hk Email: movie@chinastar.com.hk International Sales: Celluloid Dreams 2 rue Turgot 75009 Paris Telephone: +33 (0) 4970 0370 Fax: +33 (0) 1 4970 071 Web: www.celluloid-dreams.com Website: info@celluloid-dreams.com Int l Publicist: Richard Lormand website: www.filmpressplus.com email: intlpress@aol.com Telephone: +39-347-651-0945 / +39-348-380-5733 (In Venice) Magali Montet Telephone: +33 6 71 63 36 16 Email: magali@celluloid-dreams.com Gordon Spragg Telephone: +33 6 75 25 97 91 Email: gordon@celluloid-dreams.com
Synopsis A missing police pistol is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner WONG (Lee Kwok Lun) vanished earlier while pursuing a suspect in the mountains. His partner CHI-WAI (Lam Ka Tung) miraculously returned unharmed. Hotshot Regional Crime Unit inspector HO (Andy On) is in charge of the serial murder investigation. He knows the only chance he has in cracking the case is to ask for help from his mentor/former boss BUN (Lau Ching Wan). Bun is recognized as a gifted criminal profiler until he went mad several years ago. At his superior s farewell party, Bun sliced off his right ear and offered it as a present. Bun lives in seclusion with his beloved wife MAY (Kelly Lin) ever since. Bun has the gift to see into a person s inner personality. This is where the subconscious desires, emotions and mental state are laid bare. For Bun, they are the key to unlocking a killer s identity. But for Ho, Bun s unorthodox approach has put doubt in his mind. Bun comes to conclusion Chi-wai has a total of seven personalities. The cop s alternate identities are responsible for his murderous behavior. However, Ho feels betrayed when Bun s investigation went beyond his imagination. Chi-wai s lies have managed to penetrate and corrupt his vulnerable self. What begins as a quest for answer has now taken a schizophrenic turn where truth and lies, reality and delusions intertwine...
Director s Statement - Johnnie To Film-making is an on-going journey. For me, collaborating with Wai Ka Fai has opened up new creative possibilities. His philosophy and concepts raised the level of story-telling of Hong Kong cinema and my films, in particular. Both of us are never satisfied with what s already been done. Our drive comes from the desire to always break new grounds and to establish new rules. Mad Detective is no exception. As was before, this film challenges story conventions and audience expectations. Narratively and visually, nothing is what it seems to be. As our hero embarks on his investigation, the fine line between of truth and lies gradually becomes more ambiguous. Ironically, as we probe deeper to unravel the truth, we are only closer to losing grip on what the reality should be. What is right or wrong is no longer a clear-cut answer, but the result of a series of morally complicated actions. Having spent the past ten years exploring my personal style as a director, I look forward to setting a new direction for the next 10 years. Director s Profile With a film career spanning over 25 years, Johnnie To is one of Hong Kong s leading directors. Having reached commercial success in the 80 s, To turned to more personal works in the mid-90s following the creation of film production company Milkyway Image. In the past decade To s stylish action film aesthetic caught on in the west following film festival appearance of his works including The Mission and Breaking News. Election was in Competition in Cannes in 2005 and won To his third Best Director Awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Election 2 was in Official Selection in Cannes the following year. Exiled competed in 2006 Venice International Film Festival. Selected Filmography: Triangle (2007) Exiled (2006) Election 2 (2006) Election (2005) Breaking News (2004) PTU (2003)
Director s Statement - Wai Ka Fai Since 1996, Johnnie and I have been working together with the hope of pushing Hong Kong cinema s creative boundaries. Milkyway Image s films are the products of our efforts; and Mad Detective continues this philosophy 10 years on. Mad Detective is a traditional Hong Kong police film with a twist: Our hero eschews science and reason to investigate crimes. Instead, he possesses the supernatural ability to look into the darkest places of people s minds. No human being is a stranger to thoughts of both good and evil, but most of us find the ability to suppress the evil. But perhaps under different circumstances, these thoughts could get the better of us. This is where our hero gathers his crucial leads. In the film, the mad detective asks, I m human too, why should I be any different? Sadly, the burden of seeing too much means our hero is destined to walk a solitary path in this world. Director s Profile Wai began his career working in TVB television network. He quickly became a successful producer, director and screenwriter of serial dramas. Wai has directed and produced over 30 films in his career, including Chow Yun Fat s The Peace Hotel. He is considered the creative head of Milkyway Image and is best known for his frequent collaborations with Johnnie To. The two produced and directed films including Fulltime Killer and Running on Karma. The latter won Wai the Best Director and Best Screenplay Awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Director s Profile Selected Filmography: Running On Karma (2003) Fulltime Killer (2003) Love On A Diet (2001) Too Many Ways To Be No. 1 (1996)
Actor s Profiles Lau Ching Wan Lau has proven himself to be one of Hong Kong s most versatile actors since the 1990s. Lau has collaborated with director Johnnie To since the film Final Justice back in 1997, many more followed such as Where A Good Man Goes and Running Out of Time 2. Lau has won awards including Best Actor in the Golden Bauhinia Awards in year 2000 for the movie Where A Good Man Goes, and his most recent was Best Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2007 for the movie My Name is Fame. Andy On On made his first leading role in Tsui Hark s Black Mask 2: City of Masks. On has continued to act and has been honing his martial arts skills. He went on to win the Best New Artist Award in 2004 at the Hong Kong Film Awards for the movie The Kumite. Mad Detective marks his 4th film with Johnnie To. Lam Ka Tung A veteran TV actor, Lam has been in the limelight for over a decade and also made his name on stage and in commercials. Lam was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Andy Lau s comedy Dance of a Dream. Lam also starred in Johnnie To s Election and Election 2. His latest work with To, Triangle, is an Official Selection for the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. Kelly Lin A popular Taiwanese actress and model, Lin starred in Johnnie To s Fulltime Killer in 2001. Ever since she has appeared in a number of To s films, including Triangle and upcoming The Sparrow. Lin recently made her international film debut in Boarding Gate directed by Olivier Assayas, which was an Out Of Competition Film for 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
CAST Lau Ching Wan Andy On Lam Ka Tung Kelly Lin Bun Ho Chi-wai May / Inspector Cheung CREW Distributor: International Sales: Production: Executive Producer: Administrative Producer: Producers: Directed by: Screenplay: Production Manager: Music: Sound Engineer: Director of Photography: Project Manager: Production Supervisor: China Star Entertainment Limited Celluloid Dreams Milkyway Image (HK) Ltd. Charles Heung Tiffany Chen Johnnie To Wai Ka Fai Johnnie To Wai Ka Fai Wai Ka Fai Au Kin Yee Catherine Sie Xavier Jamaux Martin Chappell Cheng Siu Keung (HKSC) Elaine Chu Ding Yuin Shan