Boat People
Boat People • 1h 49m
Directed by Ann Hui • 1982 • Hong Kong
Starring George Lam, Andy Lau Tak Wah, Cora Miao
One of the major works of the Hong Kong New Wave, Ann Hui’s BOAT PEOPLE is a work of indelible humanity and searing political resonance. Invited to document the progress of postwar Vietnamese society, a Japanese photojournalist (George Lam) initially finds a picture-perfect image of communist contentment. But when he begins looking beneath the idealized surface the government wants him to see, he discovers a world of poverty and brutality that shocks him into helping a desperate family escape. Winner of five Hong Kong Film Awards—including best picture and director—Hui’s masterpiece gives harrowing expression to the experiences of those living under authoritarian oppression.
Up Next in Boat People
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Ann Hui and Stanley Kwan on BOAT PEOPLE
In this conversation, recorded in Hong Kong in August 2021, director Ann Hui and assistant director Stanley Kwan discuss their longstanding friendship, the state of filmmaking past and present, and the collaboration early in their careers on the cherished landmark of the Hong Kong New Wave BOAT P...
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BOAT PEOPLE at Cannes
Although it was a domestic critical and box-office success and has since come to be regarded as a preeminent example of the Hong Kong New Wave, BOAT PEOPLE was initially given a mixed critical reception abroad. Its international premiere at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival was fraught with controver...
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As Time Goes By
Directed by Ann Hui and Vincent Chui • 1987 • Hong Kong
Starring Ann HuiAS TIME GOES BY is a rarely seen, deeply personal work of nonfiction by Ann Hui, made at the beginning of Hong Kong’s handover from colonial British rule to Mainland China in 1997, a year of unprecedented transformations. I...
