''Anna Magdalena'' () is a 1998 Hong Kong

romantic fantasy Romantic fantasy, or "romantasy", is a Genre, subgenre of fantasy fiction that combines fantasy and Romance novel, romance, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre. One of the key featur ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

starring Aaron Kwok, Kelly Chen and Takeshi Kaneshiro. It was the directorial debut of production designer Yee Chung-Man.

Title

The title refers to the keyboard piece Minuet in G Major believed to have been written by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's colleague, Christian Petzold, from the 1725 '' Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach''. Anna Magdalena was Bach's second wife. The music attracts the attention of Chan Kar-fu and Yau Muk-yan as Mok Man-yee plays it on her piano. The film score uses this theme repeatedly.

Synopsis

The film structure loosely follows that of the minuet: four "movements", which are announced by titles: two themes, a duet, and a set of variations. 1- Chan Kar-fu's ( Takeshi Kaneshiro) introduction 2- Yau Muk-yan's ( Aaron Kwok) effect on his life 3- Mok Man-Yee's ( Kelly Chen) effect on their lives 4- Chan Kar-fu's literary vision of love. This fourth "movement" (Variations) is a wild fantasy on the previous material, based on the novel written by Kaneshiro's character: ''The XO Pair''. Unemployed aspiring writer Yau Muk-yan (Aaron Kwok) moves into the apartment of Chan Kar-fu (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a shy piano tuner. Both will soon fall in love with their new neighbor Mok Man-Yee (Kelly Chen).

Cast includes

* Aaron Kwok as Yau Muk-yan * Kelly Chen as Mok Man-Yee * Takeshi Kaneshiro as Chan Kar-fu * Jacky Cheung as Policeman (cameo) *

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (born Cheung Fat-chung; 12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential cultural icons in the Sinophone, Sinophone world, Cheung was known for his debonair demeanor, flamb ...

as Editor (cameo) *

Anita Yuen Anita Yuen Wing Yee (born 4 September 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for her roles in the films '' C'est la vie, mon chéri'' (1993), '' He's a Woman, She's a Man'' (1994), and '' From Beijing with Lo ...

as Assistant Editor * Josie Ho as Cindy, Yau Muk-yan's former girlfriend *

Leo Ku Leo Ku Kui-kei (born ), founder of ChillGOOD TV, is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was nam ...

as Client in restaurant (cameo) *

Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai ( zh, t=曾志偉; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network Television Broadcasts ...

as Building watchman (cameo) * Wei Wei as Mrs. Leung * Yu Wai-Lung as Child X * Yuki Lai as Child O * Jojo Hui as Masked woman Anna Magdalena at chinesemov.com
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Filming locations

* Hong Kong *

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

for the fantasy scenes

Reception

The film grossed HK$7.8 million in Hong Kong.

Awards and nominations

* 18th Hong Kong Film Awards: ** Nominated - Best Cinematography ( Peter Pau) ** Nominated - Best Art Direction (Poon Chi-wai) ** Nominated - Best Costume Design (Ng Lei-lo) ** Nominated - Best Original Score (Chiu Tsang-hei) *1999 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards ** Won: Film of Merit

Title

Synopsis

Cast includes

Filming locations

Reception

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links