Hong Kong Auteur, Lung Kong

Patrick Lung Kong is destined for retrospectives. The director was so ahead of his time that his work demands re-evaluation.

He is at once a very Hong Kong director and an atypical Hong Kong director. His films are firmly anchored in the land and always sensitive to the pulse of its population, often tackling issues with great social relevance. Yet, working in an industry characterized by highly commercialized efficiency, he made films at a deliberate pace. From 1966, when he debuted with Prince of Broadcasters, to 1977, the year of his last release Laugh In, Lung Kong directed at the slow clip of roughly one film a year, taking his time on research and preparation.

He is also a director of strong personal vision, making films of explosive topics, expressing highly opinionated views and telling stories with sensational treatment. He cared deeply about Hong Kong, addressing in his films such social issues as rehabilitation of ex-convicts (Story of a Discharged Prisoner, 1967), career criminals (The Window, 1968), juvenile delinquency (Teddy Girls, 1969), prostitution (The Call Girls, 1973 and Nina, 1976) and public health (Yesterday Today Tomorrow, 1970). He championed an active institutional role in dealing with these issues, at a time when such an idea was as novel as it is commonplace today.

The fervor of his convictions often triggered intense responses, sometimes in the form of vicious criticism, as with Yesterday Today Tomorrow, for which he was attacked by political ideologues. Yet he continued to court controversy, later confronting the Hong Kong audience with the issue of nuclear disarmament in Hiroshima 28 (1974), long before it became a globally recognized concern.

When not addressing social issues, he would venture into other virgin territories, like the erotic desire of a young wife in My Beloved (1971) and the yet-to-be trendy discipline of psychology in Nina, introducing such concepts as dream interpretation and suppressed memories.

His unique approach to filmmaking might have been met with mixed reactions in its initial run, but his influence is long-lasting. Story of a Discharged Prisoner, for example, was remade twenty years later as A Better Tomorrow (1986), which went on to change Hong Kong cinema.

Lung Kong is a visionary. Over 30 years after he directed his last film, it's time to take another look.

A contributing programme to the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival