#trivisa

Trivisa (樹大招風). dir. Frank Hui, Jevons Au, Vicky Wong. 2016.

Trivisa, is a Hong Kong action crime thriller produced by Johnnie To and Yau Nai-hoi, and marks the directorial debuts of Frank Hui, Jevons Au and Vicky Wong. The plot and characters are fictional, though based on the lives of three of Hong Kong’s most notorious criminals, Kwai Ping-hung (季炳雄), Yip Kai Foon ( 葉繼歡) and Cheung Tze-keung ( 張子強). They are among the most wanted criminals in Hong Kong for multiple armed robberies, murder, smuggling and kidnapping. Kwai Ping-hung was sentenced for possessing and using firearms against arrest. Yip Kai Foon specialized in robbing jewellery stores with AK-47 assault rifles, and was also the first person in Hong Kong to have used the AK-47 for an armed-robbery. Cheung Tze-keung was known to be the mastermind behind the abduction of Victor Li, Li Ka Shing’s son, and Walter Kwok, part of the third richest family in Asia.

The three gangsters (with slightly altered names) Kwai Ching-hung, Yip Kwok-foon and Cheuk Tze-keung are portrayed by Gordon Lam (林家棟), Richie Jen (任賢齊) and Jordan Chan (陳小春) respectively. In the story, Kwai, Yip and Cheuk live their separate lives unknown to each other, but become entangled in life and death after hearing a rumour spreading around Hong Kong. The rumour is that three of Hong Kong’s most dangerous mobsters will unite for one final hit before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong. The film’s title, Trivisa, is the Sanskrit term in Buddhism for the three poisons that cause suffering: delusion, greed and anger.

Debuting at number 3, Trivisa was an immediate box office hit and was widely praised by international critics. The film came out a big winner at the year-end ceremonies, sweeping ten prestigious film awards. Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards, Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Actor (Gordon Lam) at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards, and being named the Best Film and Best Actor (Gordon Lam) by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society were among the several awards the film received.

Trivisa    [trailer]

Crime thriller set during the Hongkong handover to China in 1997. It consists of three losely connected episodes (made by different directors) about three criminals, all in some way trying to adjust to the upcoming handover and the new players who want their share, mostly in the form of corrupt officials.