One Nite in Mongkok

The Mongkok district in northern Kowloon is, according to the film’s last intertitle, the most densely populated patch on the planet – and that goes double for neon signs: a great setting, all in all, for Yee’s absorbing, nocturnal cops ’n’ gangsters drama. Handsome yokel Liu (Lam) has come to town to trace his AWOL girlfriend and, on the side, pull off a hit; Dan Dan (Cheung) is the prostitute he saves from a beating and takes under his wing; and Milo is the jaded cop on their tail. Director-screenwriter Yee is good at mapping slow changes of heart (affection blooming between the two fugitives, remorse welling up in a hotshot cop) and is blessed with a rock-solid cast – notably the excellent, gorgeous Cheung. The end is violent and – as it wouldn’t be without the prior spadework – quite a tear-jerker.