16th New York Asian Film Festival

Jun 30 - Jul 16, 2017

FilmsGuestsSchedule & Tickets

Photo: © 2017 Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd

North American Premiere

Dealer/Healer

毒誡

Lau Ching-wan stars in this dramatization of the incredible real life story of Peter Chan Shun-chi, a former Triad member and drug addict who went on to be awarded for his tireless efforts as a substance abuse counselor. Starting in the 60s, this sprawling epic chronicles Chan Wa and his childhood friends who grew up together in an impoverished section of Hong Kong, practically born for trouble. Doomed to a life of crime, Chan ends up a dealer and then an addict, even exploiting his own girlfriend to support his habit. He eventually finds himself caught in a web of deceit, desperation and betrayal, forced to work with the police after his own brothers stab him in the back. This classic tale of corruption and redemption masterfully recreates an all but forgotten underbelly of Hong Kong, so gritty you can almost feel the sweltering dust gather on the back of your neck.

Director: Lawrence Lau
Cast: Zhang Jin, Louis Koo, Jiang Yiyan, Gordon Lam, Lau Ching-wan
Languages: Cantonese with English subtitles
2017; 101 min.; DCP

SCHEDULE:

Monday July 10, 9:00pm
Film Society of Lincoln Center

Q&A with director Lawrence Lau

Lawrence Lau
劉國昌

Born in South Africa, Lawrence Lau studied filmmaking in California before working for Radio Television Hong Kong and as assistant director on Tsui Hark's genre classic The Butterfly Murders (1979). Lau's career has spanned a wide range of genres with his early films focusing on society's underdogs: Gangs (1988), Queen of Temple Street (1990), and Dreams of Glory: A Boxer's Story (1991). He next had a major hit with the two-part, decades-spanning, Andy Lau-starring Lee Rock films about police corruption. His 1960s-set prequel, Arrest the Restless (1992), starred Leslie Cheung as a rebellious teen falsely accused of murder. After a five-year gap, he returned to directing in 2000 with his electric, Johnnie To-produced Spacked Out about a group of teenage girl delinquents. Recent films include industry satire My Name is Fame (2006), political thriller Ballistic (2008) and Dealer/Healer (2017), where Lau once again presents a revealing, humanistic look at Hong Kong's criminal underworld.