b420

b420 is a 2005 Hong Kong film directed by Mathew Tang. The film is set in Macau and is a comedy-drama.[2][3] It is an independent film with a low budget.[4] The tagline of the movie is "Before Twenty... Before Too Old".[2]

b420
Film poster
Directed byMatthew Tang[1]
Written byMatthew Tang[1]
Produced byPhilip Lee
StarringBen Hung
Sam Lee
Miki Yeung
Edited byMatthew Tang[1]
Release date
  • 17 November 2005 (2005-11-17)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese

b420's title is in reference to "before 20, before too old".[5] According to Tang, "There's a big difference in life from when you're in a school uniform than when you're not."[5] Starring Miki Yeung, Sam Lee, and Ben Hung Jin-Ming, the film tells the story of three adolescents as they become adults and what they think about death, love, and life.[6]

Production

b420 grew out of Tang's project at the City University of Hong Kong School of Creative Media.[6] Tang tried to secure backing from film studios but received conflicting rejections. While a studio told him the film was excessively "commercial", a second studio responded that the film was not sufficiently commercial.[7] Using nearly all of his money, Tang chose to self-finance the film.[7]

Cast

Cast and roles include:[8]

Reception

Variety film critic Russell Edwards wrote, "Helmer's obvious talent and the first-rate perfs keep pic's tempo breezy, but the transition to fully-fledged drama (courtesy of a ransom scam at the three-quarter mark) is not entirely convincing. Similarly, minor plot strands which tie Koey's Web site buddies to the main drama are awkwardly executed."[3]

Awards

The film was admitted by several international film festivals. It won the Grand Prix Award in the 19th Fukuoka Asian Film Festival, and was awarded Best Film in the 4th Viennese Youth International Film Festival.[6][1]

b420 was one of the two opening films of the 2005 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.[9]

References
  1. "From the Director: Matthew Tang". Hong Kong Film Development Council.
  2. "b420". Love HK Film.com.
  3. Edwards, Russell (4 July 2005). "B420". Variety. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  4. Kwong, Teresa Puis-see (1 August 2009). "Age of independents: new Hong Kong film and video". Film International. 7 (4): 43–44. doi:10.1386/fiin.7.4.40. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  5. Sun, Andrew (22 November 2005). "Make-or-break time for director Mathew Tang". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  6. Chong, Dennis (19 November 2007). "B420 claims second international award". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  7. Scott, Mathew (29 September 2005). "Surefire exposure". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  8. B420 at chinesemov.com
  9. "Opening film: b240". Broadway Circuit.

Further reading
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