Hong Kong director Peter Chan's musical film Perhaps Love is among three Hong Kong films vying for the honor of competing for China in the Best Foreign Feature category at next year's Academy Awards.
Competition is fierce. The other two films are Sammie Cheung's Everlasting Regret, the closing film at the Venice Film Festival, and Jackie Chan’s martial arts blockbuster, The Myth.
The final decision will be announced on 28 September.
Director Peter Chan has refused invitations to five international film festivals this year. He says that as Perhaps Love is not an "art" movie, he doesn't need to attend film festivals to promote it. For him, the Oscar race is the best choice.
Chinese mainland actress Zhou Xun, Taiwan actor Jin Takeshi, Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung and Korean actor JI Jin-hee star in the film.
It's the first Chinese love film for 35 years to express its story through song and dance
A song and dance section takes up 40 minutes of the 110-minute-long film, while another 20 minutes are devoted to singing only.
(CRI September 22, 2005)
