Where the Wind Blows

"The most momentous but unacknowledged chapter in the past thirty years of Hong Kong's history"

2023 2h 24m CN

😐

5.6

MID

★5.6TMDB · 20

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The decades spanning story of two very different policemen who rise to power in Hong Kong during British rule, and end up at odds with both organised crime groups and the anti-corruption unit vowing to bring them down.

“The most momentous but unacknowledged chapter in the past thirty years of Hong Kong's history”

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Cast

Aaron Kwok Fu-Shing
Lui Lok
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Nam Kong
Du Juan
Tsai Zhen
Patrick Tam
Yim Hung
Gardner Tse Kwan-Ho
Limpy Ho
Michael Chow Man-Kin
Fat-Bee
Chui Tien-You
Young Lui Lok
Lam Yiu-Sing
Young Nam Kong

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Philip Yung Chi-Kwong
Writers: Philip Yung Chi-Kwong, Effy Sun, Oliver Yip
Languages: Cantonese
Countries: China, 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

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Directed by Philip Yung Chi-Kwong, shot by Chin Ting-chang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Zhang Yifan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Aaron Kwok Fu-Shing and Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Du Juan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The most momentous but unacknowledged chapter in the past thirty years of Hong Kong's history".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt6902394 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Philip Yung Chi-Kwong directs. Chin Ting-chang behind the camera. Ding Ke scores. Zhang Yifan cuts. Produced in China, Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 3 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.
3Directed by Philip Yung Chi-Kwong, shot by Chin Ting-chang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ding Ke. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Zhang Yifan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Aaron Kwok Fu-Shing and Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Du Juan carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The most momentous but unacknowledged chapter in the past thirty years of Hong Kong's history".
8IMDB entry: tt6902394 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 20 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Chin Ting-chang
Original score: Ding Ke
Editing: Zhang Yifan
Production design: Bill Lui Cho-Hung
Sound: Wu Shu-yao
Runtime: 144 min · 2h 24m
Status: Released
Budget: $38,000,000
Original language: CN
IMDB: Where the Wind Blows (2023)

Also by

Philip Yung Chi-Kwong

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-10-08
★ 6/10
The premiss of this cop drama is quite promising. It depicts a scenario in which the dedication of the few honest officers amongst Hong Kong's colonial police have to combat both their own crooked comrades as well as the increasingly powerful Triad gangs that are gradually overrunning the place - to the extent that the British might have to send in their troops to restore law and order. What also complicates the story is that both "Nam Kong" (Tony Leung) and "Lui Lok" (Aaron Kwok) are aspirational policemen who are prepared to use whatever it takes to get on - and that, coupled with the equally ambitious attitudes of their wives, means that they are just as corrupt and devious as those they are purporting to be trying to control. The thing with this drama is it's pace. It takes far, far, too long to get going with way too little action or intrigue until well into the second hour, by which time I was starting to wriggle in my seat. There's an inevitability about the whole story thereafter and Philip Yung just doesn't manage to create characters about whom I could care less. The whole honour code/triad criminality plot is largely neglected in favour of an half-hearted, semi-westernised, crime thriller that really is distinctly lacking in thrills and that is just too long. It meandered and rambled too much for me with much to much dialogue and nowhere near enough focus on what could have been a really good hybrid-culture, political, adventure. It's OK, watchable, but really nothing more.

Production companies