How Hong Kong New Wave cinema classics Nomad and The Story of Woo Viet, early movies by Patrick Tam and Ann Hui, show the movement’s diversity
- Hong Kong New Wave cinema legends Patrick Tam and Ann Hui’s early films Nomad and The Story of Woo Viet are very different
- Starring Leslie Cheung, Tam’s film played with genres. Hui’s film, with Chow Yun-fat, addressed social issues. Together they show the range of the movement
Hong Kong New Wave film directors Patrick Tam Ka-ming and Ann Hui On-wah both began their careers making programmes at Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, and Hui looked to the more experienced Tam as a mentor.
But they made very different types of films. Tam followed an interest in expanding the style of Hong Kong movies, while Hui made more straightforward films which highlighted social issues.
Nomad (1982)
While not as daring as the latter movie, a stylistic experiment with colour that limited its palette to red, white and blue, Nomad took a then-unusual approach by switching from a character-based story about youthful ennui to a thriller involving Japanese terrorists.
The film is also notable for its natural and healthy depiction of sexuality – especially from a female point of view – at a time when most scenes of sex displayed on Hong Kong screens were of the comic nudge-nudge, wink-wink variety, or depicted violence against women.
