Stockholm Film Festival

In the desert of medieval China, there’s a tavern that people travel to when they need an assassin. There the once great swordsman Ouyang Feng spends his days helping other, less gifted fighters to kill, as he tries to forget the love he once lost because of his dangerous vocation. Bold visionary director Wong Kar-Wai breathes life into this sad story, as he makes his contribution to the genre in his own, moderate way. Rather than showing off extravagant, blazing sword fights, he digs deep into the minds of the characters, to portray the way of the lone hit man in a non-romantic, non-heroic way.

Kar-Wai and cinematographer Christopher Doyle transform the Chinese desert into a beautiful, yet threatening, landscape, in their take on Louis Cha’s four-volume saga The Eagle Shooting Heroes. In this special edition redux version of the 1994 original, the fabulous scenery has been digitally re-mastered for maximum cinematic majesty.

Premiere Status

Nordic Premiere

Cast

Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung

Producer

Wong Kar Wai, Jeffrey Lau, Jacky Pang Yee Wah,

Script

Wong Kar Wai, Louis Cha

Cinematography

Christopher Doyle

Music

Frankie Chan, Roel A. García

Spoken language

Mandarin, Cantonese

See all the festival films from 2008