Turning Point (2009 action film)

Turning Point
Traditional Laughing Gor之變節
Simplified Laughing Gor之变节
Mandarin Laughing Gor Zhì Bìan Jié
Cantonese Laughing Gor Zi1 Bin3 Zit3
Directed by Herman Yau
Produced by Tommy Leung
Screenplay by Yip Tin-shing
Poon Man-hung
Wong Yeung-tat
Story by Sharon Au
Starring Michael Tse
Anthony Wong
Francis Ng
Felix Wong
Wayne Lai
Fala Chen
Eric Tsang
Yuen Biao
Music by Mak Chun-hung
Cinematography Chan Kwong-hung
Edited by Chung Wai-chiu
Production
company
Distributed by Intercontinental Film Distributors (HK)
Release dates
  • 13 August 2009 (2009-08-13)
Running time
89 minutes
Country Hong Kong
Language Cantonese
Hokkien
Box office US$2,020,712[1]

Turning Point is a 2009 Hong Kong action crime thriller film directed by Herman Yau and starring Michael Tse in the title role of "Laughing Gor" and co-starring veteran actors Francis Ng and Anthony Wong. Released in Hong Kong on 13 August 2009, this is the first film to be produced by Shaw Brothers since 2003's Drunken Monkey.

Michael Tse's performance as "Laughing Gor" in the TVB television serial E.U was well received, and due to his popularity, TVB general manager Stephen Chan Chi-wan, during an interview with Tse in Be My Guest on 1 April 2009, announced that a prequel/spin-off featuring "Laughing Gor" would be made and presented Tse a contract for the film.

Plot

The story takes place before the early year of 2000 when Laughing (Michael Tse) is an undercover cop, but because of a drug case, Inspector Poon (Felix Wong) has been trying to track him down.

Laughing is supposedly an undercover cop who has infiltrated a triad organization. However, before he became a cop, Laughing was a member of the triads and worked for the triad leader Lai Tin-yat, aka Brother One (Anthony Wong). Brother was very good to Laughing, and Laughing looked up to him as his elder brother. In order to strengthen his business and illegal activities, Brother One arranges for Laughing to join the Police Force and become his mole to gather information about the plans and counter-plans for operations by the police.

Laughing graduated from Police Academy with outstanding results but before he was assigned to a post as a police officer, his "bad boy" image attracted the attention of the Head of District Anti-Triad Squad, Superintendent Sin (Yuen Biao) who arranges his assignment as an undercover cop to infiltrate the mob syndicate.

Laughing is now a "double" agent. Brother One was happy with this turn of events as Laughing was assigned to infiltrate the mob of his triad rival sibling Zatoi (Francis Ng), who tries to make life difficult for Laughing. To further complicate the situation, Laughing falls in love with Zatoi's sister, Karen (Fala Chen).

How will Laughing contend with the law, the triad brotherhood, and his love affair? No matter which camp he sides with, he is doomed to be a traitor to the other. Which path will Laughing ultimately choose to follow?

Cast

Ching Hing Society (Brother One's Gang)

Ching Hing Society (Zatoi's Gang)

Ching Hing Society (The Elders)

Police unit

Other

Release

Due to Laughing's character already flavoured among local audiences, the film performed outstanding in Hong Kong's Box office, earning $675,295 in 35 screenings with $19,294 per average topping the charts during its opening weekend.[2] Till today, the film finally grossed US$2,020,712 [3] (HK 15.7 million), one of the four domestic films to be placing into the top 10 in the summer.[4]

Conflicts between E.U. and Turning Point

The production company that produced Turning Point made the unusual decision to exclude the very story writers of E.U. to have another group to fill in Laughing's prequel story. Due to the lack of consideration of canon, a series of plot conflicts between the series and movie were revealed. Most of the established lore of Laughing in E.U. were ignored and replaced by an alternate reality time line of Laughing's life as an undercover cop:

Accolades

Accolades
Ceremony Category Recipient Outcome
29th Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Performer Fala Chen Nominated

Note: Wang Po-chieh's original nomination for the Best New Performer for Bodyguards and Assassins was withdrawn after he was confirmed to be an actor in the 2008 Taiwan film Winds of September. His nomination was replaced by Fala Chen.[5]

Sequels

On 1 August 2011, Lives of Omission, a distant television sequel, premiered on TVB Jade. On 29 December of the same years, Turning Point 2, a direct film sequel to Lives of Omission, was theatrically released.

References

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