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Motorway (Motorway)

Contemporary World Cinema

Synopsis

Motorway’ takes the elements of a classic buddy pic, melds them with a high-thrills cops ‘n’ robbers yarn and injects the whole thing with a hefty dose of octane. In the hands of Hong Kong auteur Soi Cheang, the result is a sleek, darkly stylish thriller with substance. Cocky young cop Cheung is paired up with soon-to-retire veteran Fung on Hong Kong’s Stealth Riders, a top-secret, high-speed chase squad equipped with a fleet of seriously souped-up Audis. In the quest to bring down Sun, a legendary getaway driver, the rookie learns a thing or two from the old-timer. Eschewing the frenetic editing that characterises so many contemporary car-chase sequences, and making clever use of the threatening near-silence of Hong Kong’s streets at night, Soi’s film brings back the old-school, grab-them-by-the-throat tension of classic police action pics – a move heightened by an intense, brilliantly understated score by Xavier Jamaux and Alex Gopher.

About the Directors

Born in Macau and raised in Hong Kong, Soi Cheang Pou-Soi worked as an assistant director before making his directorial debut with ‘Diamond Hill’ in 2000. ‘Dog Bite Dog’ (2006) was invited to the Tokyo International and Deauville Asian Film Festivals, while ‘Accident’ screened in competition in Venice. Other films include ‘New Blood’ (2002) and ‘Sharno’ (2007).

Credits

Director

Soi Cheang

Screenwriter

Joey O'Bryan, Szeto Kam Yuen, Francis Fung

Producer

Johnnie To

Editor

Allen Leung

Associate Producer

Ding Yuin Shan

Executive Producer

John Chong, Song Dai

Co-Producer

Shirley Lau, Lorraine Ho, Ren Yue, Lam Ping Kwan

Music

Xavier Jamaux, Alex Gopher

Cinematographer

Fung Yuen Man, Tse Chung To

Sales Company

Media International Pictures / Fathallah

Cast

Anthony Wong, Shawn Yue, Guo Xiaodong, Lam Ka Tung, Barbie Hsu, Josie Ho, Michelle Ye, Li Hai, Li Guangjie

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