At the end of daybreak by Ho Yuhang-Opening 1st April 2010 Limited cinemas

kekure · Post time 27-1-2010 11:33 AM

Post Last Edit by kekure at 27-1-2010 14:10

Wednesday January 27, 2010
Local actress makes history in Hong Kong
By SETO KIT YAN
[email protected]

PETALING JAYA: Jane Ng Meng Hui has created film history by beingthe first local actress to be nominated at the Asian Film Awards (AFA).

Theactress and radio deejay was nominated in the best newcomer category atthe 4th AFA on Jan 20 for her portrayal of a neglected 16-year-oldschoolgirl in At the End of Daybreak.

In an interview,Ng said she was surprised when she heard the good news from the film’slocal director Ho Yuhang and producer Lorna Tee.

Ng: ‘It never occurred to me that I’d get nominated’

“The director is a filmmaker whom I’ve always wanted to work with. So when he offered me the part, I agreed immediately.

“It never occured to me that I’d get nominated,” said Ng, who currently hosts a radio programme called Morning Kaki from 6am to 10am on weekdays on the local OneFM radio station.

“The movie was adapted from a true story, and because I did not know the girl, I had to rely a lot on my own imagination.

Ho, a multiple award-winning director, said Ng had played the part capably in the Chinese film.

“When I put the film together, I knew that I had something and it was quite special,” added the 38-year-old director.

Meanwhile,Hong Kong actress Kara Hui, also known as Wai Ying Hung, a veteranperformer from the Shaw Brothers era, garnered her third nomination asbest supporting actress in Ho’s movie.

She won awards in thesame category at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong FilmSociety Awards for her portrayal of an alcoholic single mother.

TheAFA is presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film FestivalSociety to recognise excellence in Asian cinema. This year’s 14-memberjury will be led by Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka-fai.

The winners will be announced on March 22.

kekure · Post time 27-1-2010 11:35 AM

TIFF 09: AT THE END OF DAYBREAK Review by Todd Brown, September 16, 2009 11:18 AM
If it seems like the sort of story that could happen in real life, that's because it is. Pulled from actual headlines, Rain Dogs director Ho Yuhang returns with At The End Of Daybreak,a story of class division and aimless youth leading ultimately to largescale tragedy. Filled with the sort of attention to detail andcharacter that made Rain Dogs such a favourite Daybreak also expands Ho's palette, the film taking the first steps into the crime genre that the director loves.

Twentythree year old Tuck Chai is a likable enough sort. The only child of alower class single mother, Tuck Chai has settled into a bland sort ofexistence. Education is not an option on their budget, his prospectsfor advancement non-existent, and rather than railing against hiscircumstances, Tuck Chai has simply embraced the status quo. He spendshis days helping out in his mother's shop, his nights riding hismotorcycle and shooting pool with his like-minded friends. He may movealong eventually but for now, this is enough. Though he may chafesomewhat at his mother's constant attention and over-fondness foralcohol, Tuck Chai is basically content to simply drift along the pathof least resistance.

The one exception to this rule of Tuck Chai's life is Ying, the teenagedaughter of a wealthy high school principal who Tuck Chai is secretlydating. Much like Tuck Chai, Ying is also mostly just drifting alongthrough her life although the waters she drifts in are considerablymore affluent.

Life is fine. Life is good. Until the day comes that Ying's parentsfind the birth control pills she has hidden in her bedroom and realizethat their daughter - only fifteen years old - is sexually active. Andnot active with just anyone, not with a boy of her own age and class,but with a lower class boy eight years her senior. Things are about toturn very bleak indeed ...

Filled with characters both immediately recognizable and deeply flawed- Tuck Chai's mother, beautifully played by Shaw Brothers veteran KaraHui, is arguably the purest soul of the lot despite being a seriousalcoholic - At The End Of Daybreakcaptures these people in all of their fragility and self-absorption.Had Tuck Chai has nobody but himself and his lack fo good sense toblame for his situation but, of course, he instead looks to everyoneelse. Ying, for her part, proves to be as callow as most fifteen yearolds of any gender, her attraction to Tuck Chai based almost purely onthe fact that the relationship was hidden and forbidden, the appealquickly wearing off once the going gets tough. And Ying's parents?Perhaps the most heartless of them all.

Opening with a truly shocking piece of foreshadowing sure to get any and all friends of PETA up in arms, At The End Of The Dayproves once again why fans of arthouse film have been looking toMalaysia for the past several years. Director Ho Yuhang is one of theMalaysian indie film movement's brightest lights, blessed with a keeneye and an uncanny sense for human nature. Though At The End Of Daybreak doesn't seem to have quite the same lingering resonance as did Rain Dogs it is, nevertheless, one very fine piece of work.

http://twitchfilm.net/reviews/2009/09/tiff-09-at-the-end-of-daybreak-review.php