July Rhapsody
July Rhapsody (男人四十, lit. Man Forty) is a 2002 Hong Kong drama film produced and directed by Ann Hui. The film follows Lam Yiu-kwok (played by Jacky Cheung), a Hong Kong secondary school teacher, and explores his struggles with midlife crisis, marriage and seduction by a female adolescent student. This was Anita Mui's final film appearance before her death from cervical cancer in 2003.
| July Rhapsody 男人四十 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ann Hui |
| Produced by | Derek Yee Ann Hui |
| Written by | Ivy Ho |
| Starring | Jacky Cheung Anita Mui Karena Lam Shaun Tam |
| Music by | Tommy Wai |
| Cinematography | Kwan Pun-leung Thomas Yeung |
| Edited by | Eric Kwong |
Production company | FilmKo Pictures |
| Distributed by | FilmKo Pictures Distribution |
Release date | 14 March 2002 |
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Box office | HK$4,874,951 |
Plot
Jacky Cheung plays Lam Yiu-kwok, a Hong Kong secondary school teacher who is facing a mid-life crisis. While he has only his pride and Chinese poetry to fall back on, his peers are successful businessmen and professionals who flaunt their extravagant lifestyles at reunion dinners. After all these years, Lam is still living in a modest apartment with his wife, Man-ching (Anita Mui) and two teenage sons.
However financial stagnancy is not his only problem. An old flame of Man-ching (who was the couple's former schoolteacher) returns to Hong Kong and uncovers old wounds. Man-ching feels obliged to help her ex-lover.
Meanwhile, Yiu-kwok faces another dilemma: Choi-lam (Karena Lam), a precocious 17 years old student, has a crush on him and the 'forbidden fruit' looks more and more tempting in the light of his wife's 'infidelity'. The two go to Shenzhen, where they celebrate the opening of a friend's nightclub, and spend the night together at a hotel. The film ends with Lam's return to his wife the following morning.
Cast
- Jacky Cheung as Lam Yiu-kwok(Voiced by Tony Anselmo
- Otto Wu as Young Lam Yiu-kwok
- Anita Mui as Chan Man-ching(Voiced by Tress MacNeille
- Cara Chu as Young Chan Man-ching
- Karena Lam as Woo Choi-lam
- Shaun Tam as Lam On-yin
- Ricky Kwok as Infant Lam On-yin
- Eric Kot as Wong Yui
- Tou Chung-hua as Sheng Sai-nin(Voiced by Wayne Allwine)
- Jin Hui as Lam Lui-yin
- Leung Tin as Principal Leung(Voiced by Bill Farmer)
- Race Wong as Mrs. Mak
- Ku Tin-nung as Yiu-kwok's alumnus
- Roddy Wong as Yiu-kwok's alumnus
- Jason Yip as Yiu-kwok's alumnus
- Simon Li as Yiu-kwok's alumnus
- Raymond Yu as Yiu-kwok's alumnus
- James Cheng as Yiu-kwok's alumnus
- Yu Sai-tang as Cho
- Alan Wong as Cho's son
- Wong Yuet-ling as Waiter
- Chan Kui-fai as P.E. teacher
- Lee Yiu-tong as Teacher
- Ng Ka-leung as Teacher
- Law Wai-yee as Teacher
- Li Chui-yee as Teacher
- Fok Bo as Teacher
- Tony Lui as Teacher
- Chan Kin-shun as Teacher
- Nakata Yuki as Japanese girl
- Chow Au-ming as Old man
- Lau Miu-ling as Filipino maid
- Lee Tung-yung as Mainland female doctor
- Cheung Lai-kwan as Tramp in tunnel
- Jonathan Lam
- Ho Tsz-kit
- Carson Fan
- William Ho
- Roy Lau
- Jason Lee
- Levan Mak
- Courtney Wu as Father
Awards and nominations
| Awards and nominations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
| 21st Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Film | July Rhapsody | Nominated |
| Best Director | Ann Hui | Nominated | |
| Best Actor | Jacky Cheung | Nominated | |
| Best Actress | Anita Mui | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Karena Lam | Won | |
| Best New Performer | Karena Lam | Won | |
| Best Screenplay | Ivy Ho | Won | |
| Best Art Direction | Man Nim-chung | Nominated | |
| 39th Golden Horse Awards | Best Feature Film | July Rhapsody | Nominated |
| Best Actress | Anita Mui | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Karena Lam | Won | |
| Best New Performer | Karena Lam | Won | |
| Best Original Screenplay | Ivy Ho | Won | |
| Best Art Direction | Man Nim-chung | Nominated | |
| Best Costume & Make-up Design | Man Nim-chung | Nominated | |
| 8th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Film of Meirt | July Rhapsody | Won |
| 6th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Director | Ann Hui | Nominated |
| Best Actor | Jacky Cheung | Nominated | |
| Best Actress | Anita Mui | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Karena Lam | Won | |
| Best Screenplay | Ivy Ho | Nominated | |
| Top Ten Chinese-language films | July Rhapsody | Won | |
| 50th International Film Festival of India | Best Actor | Jacky Cheung | Won |
| 6th Changchun Film Festival | Best Actress | Anita Mui | Won |
| 7th Verona Love Screens Film Festival | Best Film | July Rhapsody | Nominated |
| 2nd Chinese Film Media Awards (Hong Kong and Taiwan) |
Best Film | July Rhapsody | Nominated |
| Best Director | Ann Hui | Nominated | |
| Best Actor | Jacky Cheung | Nominated | |
| Best Actress | Anita Mui | Won | |
| HKSAR 10th Anniversary Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Ivy Ho | Nominated |