The Story of Woo Viet

1981 1h 32m CN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 14

CrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Wu Viet is a Vietnamese refugee who wants to leave his country behind and start over in the United States. First, he must make his way to Hong Kong, but as he passes through Thailand, he meets a beautiful woman who travels with him. Wu and his new love end up in a refugee camp in Thailand, where they discover many of their countrymen are disappearing under mysterious circumstances. As Wu tries to learn the truth about what's happening, he discovers his life is in danger, and he must flee to the Philippines for safety.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Chow Yun-Fat
Woo Viet
Cora Miao
Lee Lap Quan
Cherie Chung Cho-Hung
Shum Ching
Lo Lieh
Ah Sahm
Gam Biu
Mr. Chung
Homer Cheung
Vietcong Special Agent
Tong Kam-Tong
Snakehead
Lam Ying-Fat
Young Vietnamese Refugee

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ann Hui
Writers: Alfred Cheung Kin-Ting
Languages: Cantonese
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Part of the "Vietnam Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Directed by Ann Hui, shot by Bill Wong Chung-Piu. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Violet Lam. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Chow Yun-Fat and Cora Miao and Cherie Chung Cho-Hung carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082534 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ann Hui directs. Bill Wong Chung-Piu behind the camera. Violet Lam scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Vietnam Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Ann Hui, shot by Bill Wong Chung-Piu. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Violet Lam. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Chow Yun-Fat and Cora Miao and Cherie Chung Cho-Hung carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0082534 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bill Wong Chung-Piu
Original score: Violet Lam
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Status: Released
Original language: CN
IMDB: The Story of Woo Viet (1981)

Part of

Vietnam Trilogy

Long before Hong Kong declared itself the ‘first port of asylum’ for Vietnamese refugees in 1979, tens of thousands of Vietnamese had already been flocking to the city by cargo ships in the four years prior. Ann Hui made her first creative endeavour to chronicle this chapter of Hong Kong’s history with acute insights in the TV drama Below the Lion Rock: The Boy from Vietnam. Subsequently, as Vietnamese migrants became an increasingly contentious issue in Hong Kong, Hui directed two more films on the same topic, The Story of Woo Viet and Boat People. Collectively, these three works became known as the Vietnam Trilogy, marking the stellar rise of Hui’s filming career.