Max A
An out-of-work director agrees to make an erotic film against his will so he can pay the bills. But if he is going to do it, it's going to be HIS way.
I bet that's the one-liner directors Derek Yee and Lo Chi-Leung gave executives that got them the green light.
Viva Erotica is maybe the first serious film that gets away with showing female breasts and still being a magnificent work of art — at least that I know of.
The film satirizes the film industry's (Hong Kong's and global) obsession with sex in a very original way: by making a sex film.
Directors Derek Yee and Lo Chi-Leung also wrote the script, with Ka Man being a third writer. Most of the credit goes to them for the innovative premise and great execution, but the cast doesn't fall short either, especially Leslie Cheung as Kwok-Wing, Karen Mok as Man-Wai, and Shu Qi as Mango (particularly Shu Qi as Mango!).
Simply put: one of the best films I have ever watched.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/18/24
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Audience Member
Director's self-confession about his career & some sarcastic, in-jokes about how the industry runs. The first 2/3 is so catchy & funny, owing much to the amusing performance by Shu Qi & Law Kar-Ying. The last 1/3 is getting so tiring, loose & sloppy however.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
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Audience Member
it's not only about ero, but the truth of the film industry and about people
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
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Audience Member
This movie is for those who want to make your own movie of course, and all men and women who never cease to dream. To meet movies like this, Tsui Hark's Shanghai Blues, and Stephen Chow's King of Comedy is the reason I cannot stop watching Hong Kong films. As you can see how many movies that one tiny city produces every year, there are a lot of people who are really enthusiastic about filmmaking in Hong Kong. Top directors, at certain point, make their own autobiographical films, and for Tung-Shing Yee, Viva Erotica is the one. This movie is not perfect, but has energy and passion that can cover all the weakness. Moreover, this movie is full of sense of wonder, and it is the very thing we expect for movies. Being the biggest star of Hong Kong and still doing this kind of role at the same time, Leslie Cheung, I'd say, deserves to be seen as the icon - it was too early for him to finish his life on his own. Karen Mok is cute as usual, but of course, who shines in the film most is Shu Qi. She is the only one who can do this role. I don't see anyone else who can do it. She already succeeds in building up her position in film business here, and thus, she is such a rare talent.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
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Audience Member
This is a fairly intelligent and enjoyable bit of historical art imitating life. It's Shu Qi's second feature film after Sex and Zen II and marks her transition from soft-core actress to dramatic actress ... she plays an actress who doesn't want to do nude scenes but does them anyway, so there's that. Even though she plays a ditzy chick you can see the intelligence that will eventually propel her to acting fame. It also stars Karen Mok and Leslie Cheung. It's really Cheung's film as he plays a serious director who must make porn to make money. It's funny, insightful, and kind of surreal.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/10/23
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Audience Member
[b]16th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
[/b]• Winner - Best Supporting Actress ([url="http://www.lovehkfilm.com/people/shu_qi.htm"][color=#0000ff]Shu Qi[/color][/url])
• Winner - Best New Artist ([url="http://www.lovehkfilm.com/people/shu_qi.htm"][color=#0000ff]Shu Qi[/color][/url])
[img]http://www.brns.com/picts2d/hsuchi20.jpg[/img]
This was the film that launched Shu Chi's career away from the Cat 3 movies. The irony of course was that this was itself a Cat 3 film. Now for the uninitiated, films in HK are classified according to CAT 1, 2 ,3. Which is kinda like G, PG, R for american films. CAT 3 is the equivalent of an R rating, and here the film does contain significant amounts of nudity.
But very much unlike the other CAT 3 films of HK, which is basically softcore B films masquerading as a movie, director Derek Yee shies away from sexploitation and instead delivers a solid if at times biting satire of the HK CAT 3 industry. Led by the late Leslie cheung who put in an understated performance, and a show stealing performance by Shu Qi, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful women in HK (a statement that i readily agree with) Viva erotica succeeds in entertainining and is a fairly solid film. Nominated for Best Picture in the [b]16th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards [/b]but did not win. The accolades that Shu Qi won with this film would lead her to move to mainstream credibility and mainstream superstardom.
Worth watching if only to gaze at shu qi's beauty. And, no the picture does not do justice to her beauty.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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