Good and evil stand tall

To complement the exhibition, Yokai Parade: Supernatural Monsters from Japan, at the Pao Galleries of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, moving image programme, Wicked Cities: Hong Kong x Tokyo, presents a double bill of the Japanese classic OVA (original video animation), Wicked City (1987), directed by animation master Kawajiri Yoshiaki; and another live-action adaptation of the titular novel, The Wicked City (1992), produced by legendary Hong Kong director, Tsui Hark, and directed by Hong Kong’s multi-talented Peter Mak Tai-kit, who just passed away last year in 2023.

With its origin traced back to the 8^th century, yokai has left indelible marks on the history of film. The double bill of these two classics illustrates how the spirit of yokai inspires filmmakers and is still pertinent in our belief system and urban life. This pairing of films also highlights the influence of Japanese arts and culture on Hong Kong cinema, and how filmmakers of the two regions collaborate and inspire each other. The incredible chameleonic nature of yokai also resembles the bold mischievous creativity of our featured filmmakers!

Both films have accumulated cult followings and are still presented on big screens and discussed in different parts of the world in recent years.

Following our screenings (13 April - 8:50pm), there will be an after-screening talk, Yokai in Urban Sci-fi, graced by Roy Szeto (co-screenwriter of The Wicked City) and Keeto Lam (screenwriter, animator, film critic), who works closely with Tsui Hark and did an on-stage interview with Kawajiri and Kikuchi Hideyuki, the writer of the original novel Wicked City, at the HKAC in the 1990s; to be moderated by Honkaz Fung (animation supervisor, special effects designer and art director). Our talk introduces how the emergence of OVA led to groundbreaking cinematic experimentations in Japan, what motivated the adaptations, the Hong Kong remake’s aesthetic innovation and significance in local cinema, and other topics of interest.

Please see below for guests’ profiles.

Programme Schedule

13/4	(Sat)	7:00pm	Wicked City (1987)
13/4	(Sat)	8:50pm*	The Wicked City (1992)
14/4	(Sun)	2:00pm	Wicked City (1987)
14/4	(Sun)	4:00pm	The Wicked City (1992)

*With After-Screening Talk 

  Wicked City (1987) has been rated as a category III film and can only be viewed by persons over the age of 18.

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Programme Details

Wicked City (1987)  -  III

13/4/2024 (Sat) 7:00pm 

14/4/2024 (Sun) 2:00pm

Director: Kawajiri Yoshiaki

Cast:  Yara Yusaku (Voice), Fujita Toshiko (Voice), Nagai Ichiro (Voice)

Japan | 1987 | 82 mins｜DCP｜Colour｜In Japanese with English subtitles

Humans tremble before dreadful terrors

Every two centuries, a peace treaty between the Human World and the secret underground world of demons, Black World, gets renewed. As radicalised demons lurk in the city to disrupt the fast-approaching peace ceremony, the two worlds have assigned their own secret agents, Black Guards, to protect the signatory, Giuseppe Mayart, a 200-year-old mystic. The agents are Taki Renzaburo, a salaryman by day, and a member of the Black Guard by night, along with Makie, an alluring demon from the Black World. As all hell breaks loose, more conspiracies surface.

Co-produced by the legendary animation studio Madhouse (One-Punch Man; Perfect Blue, dir. Satoshi Kon; The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, dir. Hosoda Mamoru), animation master Kawajiri Yoshiaki’s sleek and stylish solo directorial debut unleashes a wild and uncompromising urban dystopia with raw eroticism and violence, and became one of the most iconic works to exemplify the explosive imagination of Japan’s OVA production. Its imageries also illustrate how the motif of yokai has transformed according to times. The author of its original novel, Kikuchi Hideyuki, praised Kawajiri’s animation as the closest adaptation.

While the arts of Wicked City have been critically and popularly lauded, one of the most notable members of its crew is its art director, Kazuo Oga, who subsequently became the art director of Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbour Totoro and his other films; as well as a major background artist of Studio Ghibli’s numerous works, such as Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and The Boy and the Heron.

  Wicked City (1987) has been rated as a category III film and can only be viewed by persons over the age of 18.

The Wicked City (1992)  -  IIB

13/4/2024 (Sat) 8:50pm* With after-screening talk

14/4/2024 (Sun) 4:00pm

Director: Peter Mak Tai-kit

Cast:  Leon Lai, Jacky Cheung, Michelle Reis, Yuen Woo-ping, Nakadai Tatsuya

Hong Kong | 1992 | 91 mins｜DCP｜Colour｜In Cantonese with English subtitles

Awards
Critics' Award, Fantasporto 1994
Best Special Effects, SITGES – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia 1993

Nominations
Best Film - International Fantasy Film Award, Fantasporto 1994
Best Film, SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia 1993

Power struggle before the apocalypse

As the city enters a new era of change, it is caught in a conflict between the worlds of Humans and Demons called Rapters. Taki is a salesman of an import/export company, a cover of his true identity as a special unit policeman investigating Daishu, an old Rapter businessman suspected of selling Happiness, a drug that causes people to evaporate if they stop taking. Taki runs into his old lover, Windy, who is now a mistress of Daishu. Although the two worlds are at odds, but Daishu hopes to coexist with Humans as they all face energy crises.

Intended to craft a film that is distinct from Kawajiri Yoshiaki’s titular animation, producer Tsui Hark and his co-writer Roy Szeto developed their own story based on Kikuchi Hideyuki’s original novel. Favouring Peter Mak Tai-kit’s versatile directorial style, Tsui picked him to direct this live-action remake. The film’s experimentations, most obviously with its art direction and special effects, might not have met popular agreement, but has been praised for its daring attempt against the generic commercial fare. The Wicked City remains popular among Western audiences today. The performance of Nakadai Tatsuya (dir. Kwaidan, dir. Kobayashi Masaki; The Face of Another, dir. Teshigahara Hiroshi), one of the finest Japanese actors, as Daishu in a Hong Kong film is also refreshing.

After-Screening Talk: Yokai in Urban Sci-fi

Date and time: After the screening of The Wicked City (1992) on 13 April 2024

Conducted in Cantonese.

Speakers
Roy Szeto, screenwriter of The Wicked City (Hong Kong screenwriter, director, actor, and producer)
Kee To (Hong Kong screenwriter and film critic)

Moderator
Honkaz Fung (Hong Kong multidisciplinary artist)

Following our screenings, there will be an after-screening talk graced by Roy Szeto (screenwriter of The Wicked City) and Keeto Lam (screenwriter, animator, film critic), who works closely with Tsui Hark and did an on-stage interview with Kawajiri and Kikuchi Hideyuki, the writer of the original novel Wicked City, at the HKAC in the 1990s; to be moderated by Honkaz Fung (animation supervisor, special effects designer and art director). Our talk introduces how the emergence of OVA led to groundbreaking cinematic experimentations in Japan, what motivated the adaptations, the Hong Kong adaptation’s aesthetic innovation and significance in local cinema, and other topics of interest.

About Roy Szeto

Roy Szeto is a Hong Kong scriptwriter, director, actor, and producer, and is one of the rare multi-talents to have a wealth of production and creative experiences in film, television and theatre. He graduated with a major in directing from the School of Drama of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) in 1990, and started working in Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark’s Film Workshop Co. Ltd., then transitioned to television. He also founded film companies that specialised in live action, animation and different other aspects of production. In 2006, he became the resident director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. In 2018, Szeto adapted the play, Shed Skin, for which he won Best Director (Comedy/Farce) at the Hong Kong Drama Awards, into his feature film debut, Shed Skin Papa. His screenplays include The Wicked City (1992), The East is Red (1993), Protégé de la Rose Noire (2004), Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2020) and others. He joined the HKAPA in 2012, and has been an associate professor in directing at the School of Drama from 2017.

About Kee To

Jason Lam Kee-to is a screenwriter, film critic and teacher, and is a close collaborator with Hong Kong director, Tsui Hark. He hosts an online show, and is a guest commentator on the radio. He is a co-founding member of the Hong Kong Screenwriters’ Guild and the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. As an aficionado in ufology and occultism, he became a member of the Hong Kong UFO Club. He started his career as an animator and illustrator. His major works include Hong Kong’s first animated television series, Professor Panda Says (1978 - 1989); and films such as A Chinese Ghost Story II (dir. Ching Siu-tung, 1990), The Bride with White Hair (dir. Ronny Yu, 1993), Three Husbands (dir. Fruit Chan, 2018) and Coffin Homes (dir. Fruit Chan, 2021).

About Honkaz Fung

Honkaz Fung is a multidisciplinary artist who worked in comics in his early years, and later switched to advertising and film. He has taken on roles such as director, special effects designer and art director amongst others. His directorial works include a TV film, Giant Dragon (2013), and two episodes of the TV series, Below the Lion Rock. His visual work has appeared in many films including The Storm Riders (dir. Andrew Lau, 1998), Shaolin Soccer (dir. Stephen Chow, 2001), McDull, Prince de la Bun (dir. Toe Yuen, 2004), Curse of the Golden Flower (dir. Zhang Yimou, 2006) and The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes - The Greatest Jail-Breaker (dir. Toe Yuen and Matthew Chow, 2019). He is the founder of onebyone studio, board member of Film Culture Centre (Hong Kong), and chairman of the Cantonese Cinema Study Association.

Media Partners: Asian Movie Pulse, DL, faichingblowfilms, Film Pilgrimage, P-articles Literature, Todayscreening

'Yokai Parade - Supernatural Monsters from Japan' Tour Exhibition 

Presented by: Japan Foundation
Co-presented by: Hong Kong Arts Centre, Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong