Peace Hotel
Ticket Information
Standard: HKD 85
Concessions: HKD 68
Peace Hotel
Peace Hotel is Wai Ka-fai’s directorial debut and stars Chow Yun-Fat in his last Hong Kong film before leaving for Hollywood. The film tells the story of former assassin Wong A-ping (Chow Yun-Fat), who sets up a peace hotel in Shanghai as a sanctuary for people seeking refuge. Ten years later, club girl Shau Shui-man (Cecilia Yip) arrives at the hotel on the run from a group of bandits. After finding out the truth, Wong refuses to let her stay—a decision which unleashes a wave of bloodshed.
Wai’s film debut is ambitious in scope; in addition to casting Chow in a new light (bald and engaged with more sword fighting and less shooting), Peace Hotel also deconstructs and reconstructs the concept of a hero through Chow’s heroic and anti-heroic character, presenting a parable of how power corrupts and beauty deceives.
About the Director
Wai Ka-fai (b. 1962, Hong Kong) worked as a screenwriter at the Hong Kong-based Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) in the 1980s. After co-founding Milkway Image with Johnnie To, Wai directed the gangster classic Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997). Together Wai and To have directed a number of award-winning box office hits, including Love on a Diet (2001), Fat Choi Spirit (2002), Running on Karma (2003), and Mad Detective (2007).
Image at top: Wai Ka-fai. Peace Hotel, 1995. Photo: Courtesy of Mei Ah Entertainment Group Ltd.