China Lion
Written and directed by Snow ZOU
China, 2014, 106 minutes
The Chinese romance/drama But Always begins its North American theatrical run this coming Friday, September 5th. For theater information and to buy tickets, click here.
The film, which marks the directorial debut of Snow ZOU, who also wrote the screenplay, stars Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse (Bodyguards and Assassins, Shaolin) and Mainland Chinese actress Yuanyuan GAO (Caught in the Web, Beijing Bicycle) as two best friends who have lost touch but find each other again. The feature will be Tse’s return to romantic dramas after a ten year absence during which he appeared in a series of action films including The Bullet Vanishes and The Viral Factor (both of which China Lion Film acquired for the North American market).
The film, which marks the directorial debut of Snow ZOU, who also wrote the screenplay, stars Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse (Bodyguards and Assassins, Shaolin) and Mainland Chinese actress Yuanyuan GAO (Caught in the Web, Beijing Bicycle) as two best friends who have lost touch but find each other again. The feature will be Tse’s return to romantic dramas after a ten year absence during which he appeared in a series of action films including The Bullet Vanishes and The Viral Factor (both of which China Lion Film acquired for the North American market).
“I’ve grown used to the sound of his footsteps.”
Friends An Ran (Yuanyuan GAO) and Zhao Yong-yuan (Nicholas Tse) are separated as children and meet again years later in Beijing in the early 1990’s, when An is a university student and Zhao is a hawker. They rediscover their childhood friendship. Zhao helps her raise funds to study abroad. They fall in love, but try to hide it. When Zhao sees An off he cannot help but tells An he wants to take care of her for the rest of her life. An is overwhelmed but does not stay…
“I’ve followed you for so long, of course I can recognize your footsteps.”
Everything has been going wrong for An when in 2001, now successful businessman Zhao runs into her in New York. He wants to be with her. An has given up on their past, but Zhao’s persistence moves her. They decide to get married, but another accident results in their being separated once more. Convinced they will never meet again, An returns to Beijing. And then…