A film you expect to be full of gunfights and chases, only to find yourself captivated by the charm of mind games - that is what the Cold War series is all about. Longman Leung may appear to follow the conventions of the genre, but his real interest lies elsewhere. Using the central conflict as a MacGuffin, he reveals the power structures and mechanisms through the struggles and conspiracies within the organization, the precarious checks and balances between competing forces, and the tension between the legal system and justice that emerges in the process of resolving the conflict. The prequel Cold War 1994, similarly, throws us headlong into the intriguing interests of different forces, from the police and a secret intelligence agency, the triads, giant conglomerates, and foreign intelligence organizations, through the story of a young M.B. Lee, the central figure of the Cold War series. A particularly fascinating point is the way the hidden source of power that had been left unexplained in the previous film is connected to the political circumstances surrounding Hong Kong before the handover. At the same time, the film lightens the political weight of the previous work and fills that space with the spectacles characteristic of Hong Kong cinema, a marvelous display that unfolds across the IMAX screen. That, too, is part of this film’s appeal.
Longman Leung began his career as a production designer and art director. In 2012, he made his directorial debut by co-writing and co-directing Cold War with Sunny Luk. The film opened the Busan International Film Festival and won nine awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. His first solo directorial feature, Anita (2021), was the closing film of the Busan International Film Festival that year. Cold War 1994 is a prequel to the Cold War series, and was selected for the New York Asian Film Festival.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
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