Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
The Longest Summer (1998)
Director: Fruit Chan
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Chan's recklessly original film centres on Chinese soldiers from the HK Military Service Corps (two played by real ex-members) who are left penniless and jobless when the Brits disband the force three months before Hong Kong is handed back to China. Ga-Yin (dancer Tony Ho making a terrific acting debut) gets work as a driver for a triad gang because his brother Ga-Suen (Lee, from Made in Hong Kong) is a member; then he and several unemployed mates decide to rob a bank. Everything goes wrong, but they end up with the money anyway - and with both cops and robbers on their trail. Shot to look like docu-drama and integrating vivid documentary footage of the handover, the whole film has a street authenticity rare in Hong Kong movies. The only bum notes are some misogynistic asides about delinquent schoolgirls. Otherwise, impressive and gripping.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Fruit Chan
Cast: Tony Ho, Sam Lee, Jo Kuk, Chan Sang, Pang Yick-Wai, Lai Chi-Ho full cast
Duration: 128 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now