Dong Ming
With the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards, the topic of "respecting the old and loving the young" in Hong Kong movies is once again hotly discussed. From the shortlists and winners of various awards, movie fans are once again paying attention to the Hong Kong film industry. The phenomenon of "green and yellow".
In the awards ceremony on the evening of the 14th, popular films such as "Under the Day", "Diary of a Young Man", "Goldfinger" and "Vicious Lawyer" all have a chance to win awards. At the same time, there is also a lot of suspense - what is the organizer this time? Is it to comfort the "old people" or to support the new ones? Judging from the final awards of the major awards of Best Picture, Director, Screenwriter and Best Actor and Actor, the former is still the majority. Among the 6 awards, only the best actress was awarded to "post-90s" Yu Xiangning. She played the role of a female reporter visiting an orphanage and disabled home in "Under the Sun". She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Newcomer for the first time in 2017. After being nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in 2019, it is not easy to get what you want in your early 30s.
If you look back at this year's shortlist for Best Actress, you will find that most of them are actresses of Yu Xiangning's age. For example, the most competitive Wang Danni is 35 years old. She was just nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the Academy Awards last year for "Anita Mui". Liang Yongting, who won the Best Supporting Actress Award this year, was equally impressive in "Under the Sun". She and Yu Xiangning were both born in 1993.
Compared with actresses "innovating", it is much more difficult for Hong Kong's new generation of male actors to "get ahead". It is no wonder that Louis Koo teased himself as "Liu Qingwan" at the award ceremony, because the Academy Award for Best Actor, Supporting Actor and other performance categories Awards are often "occupied" by male stars of the Liu Ching Wan and Andy Lau generation, and the final recipients of these two awards this year are two generations of legends in the Hong Kong film industry - 62-year-old Tony Leung Chiu-wai and 76-year-old David Chiang. Similarly, the Best Director Award, which is more based on qualifications and experience, usually belongs to "old people". In terms of creativity, Zhuang Wenqiang and Zheng Baorui, two directors born in the 1960s and 1970s, are in their prime. Their mastery of themes and training of actors exceed those of Jian Junjin and Zhuo Yiqian who were also shortlisted.
Of course, movie fans are also pleased to see that Zhuo Yiqian, a new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers who can write and direct, has already shown enough energy, talent and social responsibility. "Diary of a Youth" analyzes children's psychology and education. It was rare in the Hong Kong film industry before, and the film received critical acclaim in all aspects. The reason why the Academy Awards reserved the Best Director Award to Paul Cheng for "Homicide" and awarded the Best New Director Award to Zhuo Yiqian was more of a balancing act from the perspective of industry development. Sticking to his philosophy, given time, Zhuo Yiqian may still grow into the next great Chinese film director like Cheng Baorui, Ann Hui, or even Edward Yang. ▲
