Sam dung (1999)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Sylvia Chang

Writers:

Sylvia Chang (writer)
Cat Kwan (writer)

Release Date:

23 September 1999 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Romance

Tagline:

It's the love we've lost that haunts us.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Subway

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Ho-jun
Gigi Leung	...	Sheo-rou
Karen Mok	...	Chen-Li
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sylvia Chang	...	Cheryl
Leon Dai	...	Ho-jun (middle age)
Elaine Jin	...	Sheo-rou's mom
Jo Kuk
Leslie Loh
Audrey Mak
William So Wing Hong	...	Screenwriter (as William So)
Michael Tong
Cher Yeung

Also Known As:

Tempting Heart
Xin dong (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

Japan:115 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:12

Trivia:

Director Sylvia Chang found Takeshi Kaneshiro too good looking and decided to let his character have some pimples so as to not appear too perfect.

Beautiful in parts; uneven otherwise

The beauty of Xin Dong is in its understated portrayal of first love - just a simple story of an ordinary boy and girl, and the events that happen years after their heady adolescent love runs its course. It's not always a happy film, but neither is it a sad one; kind of like life, really. Some poignant touches sets this film apart from the many others of the same genre, and the celluloid-perfect leads play their roles surprisingly well, especially Gigi Leung as the innocent and slightly gawky Hsiao-rou. It's uneven though, with some unnecessary scenes that greatly slow down the pace of the movie. But then comes the absolutely classic ending, one of those that make your heart ache for that moment, and which you remember for a long time to come.