''Durian Durian'' () is a

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Hong Kong film directed by Fruit Chan. The film portrays the experiences of a young girl, Fan ( Mak Wai-Fan), and her sex worker neighbour, Yan ( Qin Hailu), in Hong Kong.

Plot

Yan is a prostitute from the mainland in Hong Kong, living near Fan and her family, who is staying in the area illegally. Yan meets Fan in a laneway behind Portland Street and become friends after Yan's pimp is assaulted in front of Fan by an assailant wielding a

durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...

fruit. Yan services dozens of clients per day and showers compulsively. After her 3-month-stay in Hong Kong, Yan returns to her family and her ex- fiancé in Northeast China to invest what she has earned. Yan remains in contact with Fan, receiving a durian from her as a gift.

Cast

* Qin Hailu - Qin Yan * Mak Wai-Fan - Fan * Mak Suet-Man - Man * Yeung Mei-Kam - Fan's mother * Chang Kin-Yung - Policeman

Production

Fan was featured in '' Little Cheung'', a film which also deals with poverty and life as an immigrant. This film also centres upon Portland Street in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

. Chan became interested in the topic of prostitution while filming ''Little Cheung'' in Kowloon, where he met and interviewed various prostitutes. While filming in mainland China, Chan found the public toilets to be terrible and very different. This served as inspiration for his next film ''Public Toilet'' (2002).

Reception

In addition to numerous awards, the film has received critical acclaim. Reviews have praised Chan and actresses Qin Hailu and Mak Wai-Fan, and emphasise themes of contrast,

urban squalor A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

, youthful optimism, and alienation. The film has been called "deliberate and brooding".

Awards

At the

20th Hong Kong Film Awards Ceremony for the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 29 April 2001 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and hosted by Eric Tsang, Carol Cheng, Gigi Leung and Eric Ng. Eighteen winners in eighteen categories were unveiled. The year's biggest winner ...

in 2001, ''Durian Durian'' was nominated for the Best Film, Best Director (Fruit Chan), Best Screenplay (Fruit Chan), Best Actress ( Qin Hailu), Best New Performer ( Qin Hailu) and Best Art Direction (

Tin Muk Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

) awards. It won the awards for Best Film and Best New Performer. It was awarded Best Film at the 2001 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. The film also won the Best Picture award at the 38th Golden Horse Awards, with Qin winning the Best Actress and Best New Performer awards.

References

External links

Official Site
* *

Durian Durian at letterboxd.com

Liu lian piao piao (2000) AKA Durian Durian at rarefilmm.com
{{Fruit Chan Hong Kong films 2000 films 2000s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Fruit Chan Films set in Shenzhen