Aw man! Over so soon? The 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival winds down tomorrow night with its Closing Night presentation of Teddy Chan's Bodyguards and Assassins, a big ol' Hong Kong period action flick starring Tony Leung Ka Fai, Wang Zueqi, Simon Yam, Eric Tsang, Donnie Yen, Leon Lai and and a whole bunch of other dudes. Here's the official festival writeup:
Bodyguards and Assassins
(Hiong Kong, 2009) Dir.: Teddy Chan; Scr.: Tin Nam Chun, Junli Guo, Bing Wu, James Yuen
35mm, 139 min., color, narrative, in Mandarin w/ E.S.
Exiled Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen returns to Hong Kong to meet with alliance leaders about insurrection plans against the Qing imperial government.
As the news spreads, both the Qing court and the revolutionaries spring into action. In China, the Qing send out official Xiao Guo to spearhead Sun's assassination; in Hong Kong, activist Xiao Bai and businessman Li gather bodyguards to protect Sun.
Though pulled into the conflict for very different reasons, a crooked cop, a rickshaw driver, a beggar, a Shaolin monk, a revolutionary's daughter, and Li's son Chung Guang all lay down their lives for a common cause: to protect Sun during the fateful hour he's in Hong Kong.
If you're headed to the screening, be sure to stick around afterward for the Closing Night party at JACCC Plaza. For more information about the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, go to the website here.