Flamboyant and colorful director who is probably Hong Kong cinema's most visible LGBTQ+ representative. His earlier films are pretty basic, straight-forward romances, his later work talks more openly about sexuality and gender identity.
Movies
It's quite surprising to see Yonfan go the animation route. China is slowly exploring the possibilities of the medium, but so far it has stayed away from the more mature options. Yonfan is someone who likes to break no ground of course, but it's not easy for a live-action director to simply jump in and direct an animated film. That said, Yonfan did pretty well here. Ziming is an undergrad in English literature, who is hired by Mrs Yu to tutor her daughter. He is a handsome man and both women develop romantic feelings for him. Ziming certainly doesn't mind, taking them on separate dates to go and see movies that bring out their innermost feelings. Yonfan is ambitious here. The film reflects on Hong Kong during the 60s, works in a love triangle and tackles a bunch of classic cinema in the process (not unlike Millennium Actress). The animation is a bit limited, but the art style is pleasant and the music very stylish. The film is a bit too meandering at times, but Yonfan never loses grip and delivers a beautiful and complex film.Read all
Three stories about modern relationships, that is, what was considered modern in 90s Hong Kong. Each short has its purpose and the quality between them is pretty consistent. Sadly it doesn't offer any of the creative freedoms you'd expect from an anthology. The result is a bit mediocre.
Like many of Yonfan's older films, pretty decent and well-made (especially for an 80s HK film), but ultimately a bit too plain. Jacky Cheung puts in a mediocre performance and Cherie Chung can't save what's essentially a pretty standard crime flick with some misguided comedy in between.
A rather lifeless and ill-conceived romance. The drama has no impact, the actors can't bring their characters to life and the direction feels overdone. Yonfan had a rather rough start, this film is simply more proof of that. I guess one might appreciate the attempt to do more serious drama in Hong Kong, but the film itself is pretty dull.
Venice 70: Future Reloaded
