Ming Ming
Encyclopedia
Ming Ming is a 2006
Hong Kong
action
-romance
film
directed by Susie Au
and starring Zhou Xun
, Daniel Wu
, Tony Yang
and Jeff Chang
. A debuttal feature-length film by Au, an experienced music video
director, Ming Ming premiered on October 14, 2006 during the Pusan Film Festival and was released in cinemas in Hong Kong
and Mainland China
on April 26, 2007.
) has always been the kind to take responsibility for her actions. When she meets D (Daniel Wu
) at a boxing ring, the two soon become lovers.
D tells Ming Ming he would go to Harbin
if he had $5 million. Taking him at his word, Ming Ming goes to Brother Cat and asks him for the money. When he demurs, she steals it, along with a secret box; she manages to fight off the other gang members by incredible prowess with black flying beads, which projected at enough speed, can be deadly.
Brother Cat is furious she has taken the box; and send his associates to find her.
As she is running away, Ming Ming bumps into an acquaintance, Tu, and passes him the money and tells him to run. Tu's special skill is to run very fast. She also bumps into Nana (Zhou Xun
in a double role) who coincidentally is also in love with D, while escaping.
Mistaking Nana for Ming Ming, Tu grabs her hand and the two of them escape to Shanghai in search for D. Nana knows Tu has got the wrong person, but the lure of the $50 million is too strong. Meanwhile, Ming Ming keeps herself hidden with the box, using her superb fighting skills to protect the two from a distance.
Failing to find D, all Ming Ming and Nana have is a secretive voicemail message left by him.
Finally, they realise that the secret that D is looking for is also connected to the box they hold. Just what is this secret...
and Mainland China
on 26 April 2007. According to distributor Polybona Films
, the film grossed over ¥
10 million (approximately US$1.3 million) in total box office from Hong Kong and Mainland China within five days of release.
magazine writes, 'There is little doubt that Susie Au has an enormous gift for creating visual images, but somebody should have told her that a movie director is someone who tells a story with images and dialogue.'
Hong Kong films of 2006
-2006:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2006 at * at Hong Kong Film Archive...
Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
action
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
-romance
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Susie Au
Susie Au
Susie Au Suet-yee , is a Hong Kong music video and film director.She studied film in New York . In 1991, her independent work To Hide and Seek won the Outstanding Film award at the 16th Hong Kong International Film Festival. In 1992, she went back to Hong Kong to become a music video director...
and starring Zhou Xun
Zhou Xun
Zhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
, Daniel Wu
Daniel Wu
Daniel Yin-Cho Wu is a Hong Kong actor, director and producer. Since his film debut in 1998, he has been featured in over 40 films. Wu has been called "the young Andy Lau," and is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese-language film industry.-Early life:Wu was born in...
, Tony Yang
Tony Yang
Tony Yang is a Taiwanese film actor famous for his work in Hong Kong.-Filmography:-External links:...
and Jeff Chang
Jeff Chang
Jeff Chang is a Taiwanese male singer, who performs sentimental Mandarin pop ballads.Chang was born in Yunlin, Taiwan. He started off his showbiz career by winning a singing competition while in college...
. A debuttal feature-length film by Au, an experienced music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
director, Ming Ming premiered on October 14, 2006 during the Pusan Film Festival and was released in cinemas in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
on April 26, 2007.
Cast
- Zhou XunZhou XunZhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
as Ming Ming / Nana (double role) - Daniel WuDaniel WuDaniel Yin-Cho Wu is a Hong Kong actor, director and producer. Since his film debut in 1998, he has been featured in over 40 films. Wu has been called "the young Andy Lau," and is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese-language film industry.-Early life:Wu was born in...
as D - Tony YangTony YangTony Yang is a Taiwanese film actor famous for his work in Hong Kong.-Filmography:-External links:...
as Tu - Jeff ChangJeff ChangJeff Chang is a Taiwanese male singer, who performs sentimental Mandarin pop ballads.Chang was born in Yunlin, Taiwan. He started off his showbiz career by winning a singing competition while in college...
as Brother Cat - Kristy YangKristy YangKristy Yang , also known as Kristy Yeung, is a Hong Kong-based Chinese Canadian actress.-Biography:Yang was born in Shanghai, China, to a Chinese father and a British Chinese mother...
Plot
Fiery Ming Ming (Zhou XunZhou Xun
Zhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
) has always been the kind to take responsibility for her actions. When she meets D (Daniel Wu
Daniel Wu
Daniel Yin-Cho Wu is a Hong Kong actor, director and producer. Since his film debut in 1998, he has been featured in over 40 films. Wu has been called "the young Andy Lau," and is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese-language film industry.-Early life:Wu was born in...
) at a boxing ring, the two soon become lovers.
D tells Ming Ming he would go to Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
if he had $5 million. Taking him at his word, Ming Ming goes to Brother Cat and asks him for the money. When he demurs, she steals it, along with a secret box; she manages to fight off the other gang members by incredible prowess with black flying beads, which projected at enough speed, can be deadly.
Brother Cat is furious she has taken the box; and send his associates to find her.
As she is running away, Ming Ming bumps into an acquaintance, Tu, and passes him the money and tells him to run. Tu's special skill is to run very fast. She also bumps into Nana (Zhou Xun
Zhou Xun
Zhou Xun is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" in China in the early 2000s, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.-Early life:...
in a double role) who coincidentally is also in love with D, while escaping.
Mistaking Nana for Ming Ming, Tu grabs her hand and the two of them escape to Shanghai in search for D. Nana knows Tu has got the wrong person, but the lure of the $50 million is too strong. Meanwhile, Ming Ming keeps herself hidden with the box, using her superb fighting skills to protect the two from a distance.
Failing to find D, all Ming Ming and Nana have is a secretive voicemail message left by him.
Finally, they realise that the secret that D is looking for is also connected to the box they hold. Just what is this secret...
Release
Ming Ming premiered during the Pusan Film Festival and was released in cinemas in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
on 26 April 2007. According to distributor Polybona Films
Polybona Films
Beijing Polybona Film Distribution Co. Ltd. , known simply as, Polybona Films, is a Chinese production company, involved in the co-production and distribution of films from China and Hong Kong...
, the film grossed over ¥
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
10 million (approximately US$1.3 million) in total box office from Hong Kong and Mainland China within five days of release.
Critical reception
Ming Ming opened to mixed to negative reviews. Perry Lam of MuseMuse (Hong Kong Magazine)
Muse is a bilingual Hong Kong-based multimedia publisher specializing in content related to Hong Kong's art and culture scene.. Until December 2010, Muse published an award-winning monthly arts and culture magazine...
magazine writes, 'There is little doubt that Susie Au has an enormous gift for creating visual images, but somebody should have told her that a movie director is someone who tells a story with images and dialogue.'
External links
- Lovehkfilm.com Review http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/ming_ming.htm