Website and Trailer for Pang Ho Cheung's Isabella
Pang Ho Cheung is one of those acclaimed directors who, for some reason, I've never quite paid any mind to. Based on the trailer to his latest I've been missing out in a big, big way and I'm feeling the need to track down a copy of his earlier film AV ...
Isabella is a family drama with a crime twist starring Chapman To as a disgraced cop and Isabella Leong - a canto pop star making the transition to acting who I think we're going to hear a lot more from - as the daughter he never knew he had. That is, until he propositioned her. The IMDB says Christopher Doyle had a hand in shooting this - Charlie Lam is the other cinematographer - and you can definitely feel his touch.
Thanks to Tommie for the pointer and read on for the synopsis.
On the eve of the transfer of power over Macao to the People’s Republic of China, a police officer named Shing finds himself in the throes of a dreadful crisis – both in his career and in his private life. Already thrown off course for having been suspended on a corruption charge, shortly afterwards, he has an encounter that completely changes his life.
Hoping to compensate for his failed career, Shing seeks comfort in the arms of a young girl. He has no more than a one-night stand in mind when he approaches this young woman. But when he gently tries to persuade her to go to bed with him, he is more than surprised at her rebuff. For this elf-like creature named Yan confronts him with the most astonishing news conceivable: she is none other than the daughter Shing never knew he had.
While Shing tries to cling on to his bachelor habits, Yan begins turning his daily routine upside down by insisting that she move into his apartment. From this moment on, the two are seen wandering about the streets of Macao together: Yan in search of her little runaway dog, and Shing trying to become acquainted with his daughter. Yan certainly keeps her new-found father on his toes. If she isn’t bickering with her girlfriend Kate, she’s trying to fend off the attentions of her fellow-pupil and fairly scatterbrained admirer. And these are just two of the situations which call for her father’s intervention. Shing soon begins to ask himself whether he really feels up to any of this…
