Protégé (film)

Protégé
Protégé Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Derek Yee
Produced by	Peter Chan
Written by	Derek Yee
Starring	Andy Lau Daniel Wu Louis Koo Anita Yuen Zhang Jingchu
Music by	Peter Kam
Cinematography	Venus Keung Chan Wai-Lin
Editing by	Kong Chi-Leung
Distributed by	Singapore: Golden Village Pictures MediaCorp Raintree Pictures Hong Kong: Gala Film Distribution
Release date(s)	11 February 2007(Germany) 13 February 2007 (Hong Kong) 15 February 2007 (Singapore)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	Hong Kong Singapore
Language	Cantonese (dubbed in Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles in Singapore)

Protégé (traditional Chinese: 門徒; simplified Chinese: 门徒; pinyin: Mén Tú; Cantonese Yale: Moon tow) is a 2007 Singaporean-Hong Kong co-produced crime drama film written and directed by Derek Yee, starring Andy Lau, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo, Anita Yuen and Zhang Jingchu.

Plot

Undercover officer Nick had spent the last seven years penetrating into the core of a drug ring working his way up from a street dealer post to the managerial position handling cargo deliveries for Kwan - the biggest player in the local heroin market. When the ailing Kwan makes Nick his protégé, Nick could not but sway before money and power and starts to perform his role like a real drug trafficker. This, together with his affair with heroin-addict Jane, causes Nick to becomes more and more confused about his true identity, and eventually leads to a disastrous end.

The film begins with a scene in a dark isolated rundown apartment building, showing a heroin addict living poorly with her young daughter. The scene then forwards to the perspective of Officer Nick who is suffering from loneliness just after completing an undercover assignment. He recalls the entire story as to what happened and the events to lead to his emptiness.

Premise

Based on materials provided by retired undercover agents of the police force, "Protégé" attempts to realistically tell the story of undercover agents in the clandestine drug world, who struggle to constantly walk on the fine line between justice and crime, but who will never see the day of serving in the regular police force.

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews. Perry Lam, for example, wrote in Muse magazine, 'The movie is powerful precisely because it doesn't preach, and therefore spares us all the usual opinions, standard platitudes and naive assumptions about drug dealing and addiction.'^[1]

Cast

• Andy Lau as Lam Kwan
• Anita Yuen as Kwan's wife
• Daniel Wu as Nick (Lee Chi-Lik)
• Zhang Jingchu as Jane (Pang Yuk-Fun)
• Louis Koo as Jane's husband
• He Meitian as Kwan's sister-in-law
• Qi Yuwu as Singapore customs officer (cameo)
• Derek Yee as Miu Chi-Wah
• Liu Kai-Chi as HKCED Customs Chief

DVD release

Region 1 DVD (US & CANADA)

On February 24, 2009 Dragon Dynasty, released "Protégé" on Region 1 DVD:

Special Features:

• Feature Length Audio Commentary with Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan
• The Making of Protégé Undercover & Over the Edge: An Exclusive Interview with Leading Man Daniel Wu
• Chasing the Dragon: An Exclusive Interview with Leading Lady Zhang Jingchu
• The Dealer: An Exclusive Interview with Producer Peter Chan
• Original Theatrical Trailer

Awards and nominations

• 27th Hong Kong Film Awards
  • Won: Best Supporting Actor (Andy Lau)
  • Won: Best Film Editing (Eric Kong)
  • Nominated: Best Film
  • Nominated: Best Director (Derek Yee)
  • Nominated: Best Screenplay (Xu Lan, Chun Tin-Nam, Aubrey Lam)
  • Nominated: Best Actress (Zhang Jingchu)
  • Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Louis Koo)
  • Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (Anita Yuen)
  • Nominated: Best New Performer (Tse Chi Tung)
  • Nominated: Best Cinematography (Venus Keung)
  • Nominated: Best Art Direction (Yee Chung-Man, Kenneth Mak)
  • Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Chin Kar-lok)
  • Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Peter Kam)
  • Nominated: Best Sound Design (Kinson Tsang)
  • Nominated: Best Visual Effects (Ho Siu Lun, Chow Kim Hung, Ching Han Wong )

See also

• List of Dragon Dynasty releases

References

1. ^ Lam, Perry (2 2007). "The Good, the Bad and the Freakish". Muse Magazine (1): 77. 

External links

• Official website
• Protégé at the Internet Movie Database
• Protégé at AllRovi
• Protégé at Rotten Tomatoes
• HK cinemagic entry