An Autumn's Tale
Encyclopedia
An Autumn's Tale is a 1987
Hong Kong
-made romantic drama set in New York City
starring Chow Yun-fat, Cherie Chung, and Danny Chan. This is Mabel Cheung second movie as a director after her "migration trilogy."
The movie won the Hong Kong Film Awards
for Best Film , Best Cinematographer (James Hayman and David Chung) , Best Screenplay (Alex Law) , Chow was nominated three times for Best Actor in the same year, but won with his performance in Prison on Fire
. Cherie Chung was nominated for Best Actress and Lowell Lo was nominated for Best Original Score, respectively. The film is listed at #49 on the Hong Kong Film Awards' Best 100 Chinese Films of the Century.
Arriving at her apartment, Pang introduces Jennifer to her room. He warns her to be careful using the fridge, as it is run by gas, which is constantly leaking, but his voice is muffled by a passing train. Pang leaves letting Jennifer know that she may stamp on the floor if she needs anything, as he lives downstairs.
The next day, Jennifer wakes up Pang to have him show her how to take a train to meet Vincent. Pang jokes the train station is like a labyrinth and is dangerous for a girl like her to go there by herself. He insists driving her to the train station. Waiting for Jennifer to change, he comments women are "cha bo", meaning trouble. Pang ridicules Jennifer not knowing English.
Waiting in the train station, she sees Vincent with Peggy. Anxiously, Jennifer attempts to hide from Vincent but is caught before she could walk out from him. Vincent did not expect to see Jennifer at the train station, or he would have not been to the Boston to see a baseball game with his girlfriend. Vincent felt it was childish of Jennifer childish to travel to New York City to send him a box of dolls from Hong Kong. Infuriated, Jennifer walks back to the car and throws the box of dolls on the street.
Later that night, Pang answers a call made by Vincent because Jennifer would not answer. He told Jennifer to meet with him for lunch at Silver Palace restaurant the next day.
Coincidentally, Pang works as a busboy at the restaurant and overhears their conversations. After saving enough money, Jennifer meant to study in New York as a means to be with Vincent. Vincent tells Jennifer to explore the city and meet new people than to follow him everywhere. When he tells her this, she finds out he is leaving for Boston tomorrow.
Depressed, Jennifer goes home and makes a pot of tea; the fridge is not closed properly. Pang smells gas from upstairs and investigates; he finds a passed out Jennifer. He takes her downstairs and has someone call the fire department. Seeing Jennifer lovesick for Vincent, Pang takes her out for a walk.
The next day, Jennifer goes to a restaurant in Chinatown. While she eats an egg sandwich, Pang walks in and sees her too; Jennifer disregards having eye-contact with him and turns aside. Pang is about to sit with Jennifer, only to have a friend from another table call him. Pang greets them and moves toward Jennifer's table. He tries a piece of Jennifer's egg sandwich and calls a staff member over to order extra plates of food for both of them, for no extra charge. Pang helps Jennifer build a bookcase and decorate her room. She tells him she found a part-time job as a babysitter to pay for her rent, but would need second job for her tuition and other expenses. He finds her grandfather's watch, but the strap is worn. Unsure she has enough money for a watchstrap, let alone a Broadway show, Pang goes to buy tickets for her the next morning. Not knowing Jennifer was busy, he did not have a chance to tell her he had tickets for the show, he tried to sell the tickets, claiming they were for Bull, when she asked.
Jennifer climbed off the bus to help Pang with the guard, but would be late for her babysitting job, so Pang insisted driving her there. He stripped the car and rebuilt it, so she would not have to hold onto the broken door. Concerned, Pang runs to her and asks why she will not go in. She is anxious and asks Pang to accompany her.
Pang spent all his money and asks Cow and Bull to give him some money to gamble. Bull is reluctant to give some because he wants to save it for his new restaurant. Bull pays the gangs $400.00 each week, but is still not enough from keeping them destroying his property.
Tony, one of Mrs. Sherwood's boyfriends wants to hire Jennifer as a waitress for his restaurant. Pang is suspicious of the owner, but offers to try the restaurant. Jennifer assures him it is not necessary, but would love for him to visit her there. Pang declines, with work on his mind. He later visits Jennifer, and is lead to an expensive restaurant called "The Big Panda".
Unable to read the English menu, he has the waiter order a simple menu for him. The waiter takes advantage of this position and charges the highest-priced items onto the bill.
While babysitting Anna, Tony visits Jennifer and walks with to the garden. Mrs. Sherwood recently came home and sees Tony flirting with Jennifer, and calls for her to leave immediately. Having heard Jennifer losing her babysitting job, Pang and his friends go to The Big Panda restaurant to beat up the owner.
They spend their morning trying to sell her dolls for money. Walking past a vendor, Jennifer sees a watchband she likes; unfortunately it is out of her budget. At the park, she sees Vincent with Peggy but wants to flee. She asks Pang if she looks better than Peggy. Pang did not care how others looked, or how others looked at him, as long as he kept his dignity. He told Jennifer that it was his dream to open a restaurant on a pier on the beach, and name it Samuel Pang.
Next morning, Samuel Pang wrote on his mirror --three commandments and five goals; one goal being "If you want it, go for it", in this case Pang going for "cha bo", Jennifer.
Pang is holding a party, and invites Jennifer, but does not tell her it his birthday. Vincent heard she was at a party, so he talked with Jennifer the entire night. The conversation became awkward when he mentioned he broke up with Peggy. Pang, serving guests leaves because he does not think he will have a chance with Jennifer. He went drinking and gambling until Bull asks for more money to pay off the gangs. Frustrated, Pang gathered a group of friends drove in search for the gang and beat them up.
Jennifer wanders in Pang's room sees a mirror written with words by him. He wrote his name, age, and birthday in English. Feeling lonely, she walks across a park and sees Anna at her school. Mrs. Sherwood sees her and invites her to move with Anna in Long Island.
Pang comes back to his apartment the next morning and finds his room with a Jennifer's graduation certificate. To congratulate her, he buys the watchband as a gift. The old man did not accept his offer, so Pang sold his car for the watchband. Excited to see Jennifer with the gift, he runs to her apartment only to see Vincent helping Jennifer move furniture in his car. She gives him her number. They exchange gifts, but Pang runs after her after she leaves. Unable to catch up, he walks to a beach. He opens his gift and finds her grandfather's watch.
Some time afterwards, they meet at a pier with a restaurant named Sampan.
Hong Kong films of 1987
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1987:.-1987:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1987 at...
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-made romantic drama set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
starring Chow Yun-fat, Cherie Chung, and Danny Chan. This is Mabel Cheung second movie as a director after her "migration trilogy."
The movie won the Hong Kong Film Awards
Hong Kong Film Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
for Best Film , Best Cinematographer (James Hayman and David Chung) , Best Screenplay (Alex Law) , Chow was nominated three times for Best Actor in the same year, but won with his performance in Prison on Fire
Prison on Fire
Prison on Fire is a 1987 Hong Kong action film directed by Ringo Lam and starring Chow Yun-fat. The film was followed by a sequel, Prison on Fire II, in 1991.-Plot:...
. Cherie Chung was nominated for Best Actress and Lowell Lo was nominated for Best Original Score, respectively. The film is listed at #49 on the Hong Kong Film Awards' Best 100 Chinese Films of the Century.
Cast
- Chow Yun-fatChow Yun-FatChow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
as Samuel Pang - Cherie ChungCherie ChungCherie Chung Chor-hung is a retired Hong Kong film actress.She is one of the top actresses in Hong Kong Film 1980s.InHakka descent, she participated in the Miss Hong Kong competition but won nothing...
as Jennifer Lee - Danny ChanDanny ChanDanny Chan Bak-keung was a 1980s cantopop singer, composer and actor in Hong Kong with origins in Taishan, Guangdong. Chan was of the first generation of pop idols in Hong Kong. He was already an electronic organ player, a songwriter, an actor and a promising singer at the beginning of his career...
as Vincent
Supporting Cast
- Ng Fook Sing as Peggy
- Gigi Wong Suk-yee as Mrs. Sherwood
- Jeng Ming-suen as Anna Sherwood
- Wong Man as Jennifer's mother (cameo)
- Brenda Lo as May May-chu (cameo)
- Arthur Fulbright as An antique shop owner
- Chan Yui Yin
- Tom Hsiung
Plot
Jennifer travels to New York City with plans to study with her boyfriend, Vincent. Samuel Pang arrives at the airport with two friends, Cow and Bull to pick her up. Not comprehending with the security officer, Pang shouts welcoming Japanese phrases in hopes of getting inside. Illegally parking his car at a no-parking zone, Pang rushes his friends to escort Jennifer from the airport.Arriving at her apartment, Pang introduces Jennifer to her room. He warns her to be careful using the fridge, as it is run by gas, which is constantly leaking, but his voice is muffled by a passing train. Pang leaves letting Jennifer know that she may stamp on the floor if she needs anything, as he lives downstairs.
The next day, Jennifer wakes up Pang to have him show her how to take a train to meet Vincent. Pang jokes the train station is like a labyrinth and is dangerous for a girl like her to go there by herself. He insists driving her to the train station. Waiting for Jennifer to change, he comments women are "cha bo", meaning trouble. Pang ridicules Jennifer not knowing English.
Waiting in the train station, she sees Vincent with Peggy. Anxiously, Jennifer attempts to hide from Vincent but is caught before she could walk out from him. Vincent did not expect to see Jennifer at the train station, or he would have not been to the Boston to see a baseball game with his girlfriend. Vincent felt it was childish of Jennifer childish to travel to New York City to send him a box of dolls from Hong Kong. Infuriated, Jennifer walks back to the car and throws the box of dolls on the street.
Later that night, Pang answers a call made by Vincent because Jennifer would not answer. He told Jennifer to meet with him for lunch at Silver Palace restaurant the next day.
Coincidentally, Pang works as a busboy at the restaurant and overhears their conversations. After saving enough money, Jennifer meant to study in New York as a means to be with Vincent. Vincent tells Jennifer to explore the city and meet new people than to follow him everywhere. When he tells her this, she finds out he is leaving for Boston tomorrow.
Depressed, Jennifer goes home and makes a pot of tea; the fridge is not closed properly. Pang smells gas from upstairs and investigates; he finds a passed out Jennifer. He takes her downstairs and has someone call the fire department. Seeing Jennifer lovesick for Vincent, Pang takes her out for a walk.
The next day, Jennifer goes to a restaurant in Chinatown. While she eats an egg sandwich, Pang walks in and sees her too; Jennifer disregards having eye-contact with him and turns aside. Pang is about to sit with Jennifer, only to have a friend from another table call him. Pang greets them and moves toward Jennifer's table. He tries a piece of Jennifer's egg sandwich and calls a staff member over to order extra plates of food for both of them, for no extra charge. Pang helps Jennifer build a bookcase and decorate her room. She tells him she found a part-time job as a babysitter to pay for her rent, but would need second job for her tuition and other expenses. He finds her grandfather's watch, but the strap is worn. Unsure she has enough money for a watchstrap, let alone a Broadway show, Pang goes to buy tickets for her the next morning. Not knowing Jennifer was busy, he did not have a chance to tell her he had tickets for the show, he tried to sell the tickets, claiming they were for Bull, when she asked.
Jennifer climbed off the bus to help Pang with the guard, but would be late for her babysitting job, so Pang insisted driving her there. He stripped the car and rebuilt it, so she would not have to hold onto the broken door. Concerned, Pang runs to her and asks why she will not go in. She is anxious and asks Pang to accompany her.
Pang spent all his money and asks Cow and Bull to give him some money to gamble. Bull is reluctant to give some because he wants to save it for his new restaurant. Bull pays the gangs $400.00 each week, but is still not enough from keeping them destroying his property.
Tony, one of Mrs. Sherwood's boyfriends wants to hire Jennifer as a waitress for his restaurant. Pang is suspicious of the owner, but offers to try the restaurant. Jennifer assures him it is not necessary, but would love for him to visit her there. Pang declines, with work on his mind. He later visits Jennifer, and is lead to an expensive restaurant called "The Big Panda".
Unable to read the English menu, he has the waiter order a simple menu for him. The waiter takes advantage of this position and charges the highest-priced items onto the bill.
While babysitting Anna, Tony visits Jennifer and walks with to the garden. Mrs. Sherwood recently came home and sees Tony flirting with Jennifer, and calls for her to leave immediately. Having heard Jennifer losing her babysitting job, Pang and his friends go to The Big Panda restaurant to beat up the owner.
They spend their morning trying to sell her dolls for money. Walking past a vendor, Jennifer sees a watchband she likes; unfortunately it is out of her budget. At the park, she sees Vincent with Peggy but wants to flee. She asks Pang if she looks better than Peggy. Pang did not care how others looked, or how others looked at him, as long as he kept his dignity. He told Jennifer that it was his dream to open a restaurant on a pier on the beach, and name it Samuel Pang.
Next morning, Samuel Pang wrote on his mirror --three commandments and five goals; one goal being "If you want it, go for it", in this case Pang going for "cha bo", Jennifer.
Pang is holding a party, and invites Jennifer, but does not tell her it his birthday. Vincent heard she was at a party, so he talked with Jennifer the entire night. The conversation became awkward when he mentioned he broke up with Peggy. Pang, serving guests leaves because he does not think he will have a chance with Jennifer. He went drinking and gambling until Bull asks for more money to pay off the gangs. Frustrated, Pang gathered a group of friends drove in search for the gang and beat them up.
Jennifer wanders in Pang's room sees a mirror written with words by him. He wrote his name, age, and birthday in English. Feeling lonely, she walks across a park and sees Anna at her school. Mrs. Sherwood sees her and invites her to move with Anna in Long Island.
Pang comes back to his apartment the next morning and finds his room with a Jennifer's graduation certificate. To congratulate her, he buys the watchband as a gift. The old man did not accept his offer, so Pang sold his car for the watchband. Excited to see Jennifer with the gift, he runs to her apartment only to see Vincent helping Jennifer move furniture in his car. She gives him her number. They exchange gifts, but Pang runs after her after she leaves. Unable to catch up, he walks to a beach. He opens his gift and finds her grandfather's watch.
Some time afterwards, they meet at a pier with a restaurant named Sampan.
Trivia
- At the end of the film, a sign on the right of Samuel Pang's restaurant "Sampan" is mislabelled as "Sampman".
External links
- An Autumn's Tale at the Hong Kong CinemagicHong Kong CinemagicHong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people that created them. The website contains news, interviews, film reviews and a database of people,...