The second work in Ann Hui’s Vietnam Trilogy, The Story of Woo Viet is a thematic bridge between Below the Lion Rock: The Boy from Vietnam (1978) and Boat People (1982). Depicting the plight of Vietnamese refugees in the form of an action thriller, the film follows Woo Viet (Chow Yun-fat), a Vietnamese veteran who reunites with his long-time pen pal Li Lap-Quan (Cora Miao) in a refugee camp in Hong Kong. There, he meets and develops a relationship with fellow refugee Shum Ching (Cherie Chung). The pair attempts to flee to the United States but ends up stranded in Manila’s Chinatown, where local triads force Shum into prostitution and made Woo work as a hired assassin.

By setting its two main characters adrift, the film laments the apparent rootlessness of overseas Chinese and foreshadows the themes of displacement and wandering that preoccupy Hui’s later works. Unlike her contemporary Tsui Hark, who immersed himself wholeheartedly into the mainstream and pursued technical innovation, Hui successfully infuses the assassin genre with a serious social message, distinguishing herself as the New Wave director most adept at navigating the balance between commercial viability and artistic expression.

The restoration was made using the original 35mm picture and sound negatives preserved at the Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The restoration was undertaken at Cineric Portugal.

The Story of Woo Viet is one of the films under M+ Restored, an initiative supported by CHANEL.

The screening on 1 November will be followed by a talk with the director of The Story of Woo Viet, Ann Hui. This talk will be held in Cantonese, with simultaneous interpretation in English.

Ann Hui (b. 1947, Liaoning) started her film career as a key figure of the Hong Kong New Wave. While her films span diverse genres, her approach consistently adheres to realism. Her debut feature, The Secret (1979), drew inspiration from a real-life murder case, while the award-winning Boat People (1982) brought the situation of Vietnamese refugees to international attention. Her work often incorporates autobiographical elements. In Song of the Exile (1990) and As Time Goes By (1997), her personal memories serve as points of departure to investigate displacement and the legacy of lives set adrift in the search for roots. She also demonstrates a deep interest in urban life and the social struggles of ordinary people in Hong Kong, as seen in The Way We Are (2008) and Night and Fog (2009). Her ability to direct actors and craft memorable female characters has garnered many Best Actress accolades for major stars, including Josephine Siao in Summer Snow (1995) and Deanie Ip in A Simple Life (2011). Her recent works include The Golden Era (2014), Our Time Will Come (2017), Love After Love (2020), and Elegies (2023), a documentary about Hong Kong poets.