Miracles (film)

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Miracles/ Qiji

UK DVD Cover of Miracles
Directed by Jackie Chan
Written by Jackie Chan
Starring Jackie Chan
Anita Mui
Ah Lei Gua
Release date(s) 1989
Running time 127 mins (varies from country to country)
Country Hong Kong
Language Cantonese, English(Dubbed)
IMDb profile

Miracles (Traditional Chinese:契機 pinyin: qí jī) is a 1989 Hong Kong action film directed and written by Jackie Chan, who also plays the lead role. The film is set in 1930s Hong Kong and is a variation of Frank Capra's Lady for a Day and Pocketful of Miracles, which in turn were based on a short story by Damon Runyon, "Madame La Gimp".

Miracles features many well-known Hong Kong actors, including Anita Mui and Wu Ma, and is considered one of Jackie Chan's most sophisticated directorial efforts[1].

Contents

[edit] Plot Introduction

Jackie plays Kuo Cheng-Wah, a kindhearted country boy who is quickly cheated out of all his money when he arrives in Hong Kong. Depressed and destitute, he encounters Madame Kao (Ah Lei Gua), a shabbily-dressed woman selling flowers on the street; she urges him to buy a red rose, saying it will bring him luck. He demurs at first, shaking his head sadly, then finally agrees.

His fortunes immediately take a dramatic turn when he stumbles into a gang war, and renders assistance to a dying gang leader. The leader makes Kuo his successor, then dies. Kuo, awed, attributes his luck to Madame Kao's rose, and takes to buying one from her every day thereafter.

Kuo starts a nightclub, where he falls in love with a singer (Anita Mui); they vow to do good deeds rather than committing crimes. Before a meeting with a rival boss, Kuo goes to buy his usual rose from Madame Kao, but she isn't at her post. He searches for her, and finds her terribly upset over a letter she has just received. The letter is from her daughter, a student in Shanghai whom Madame Kao has been supporting, all the while concealing her sufferings and leading her to believe that she is a rich society woman in Hong Kong. Now, the she is coming to visit, bringing her wealthy fiance and his parents, and Madame Kao is afraid that her poverty will bring disgrace on her daughter.

Kuo offers to help, buying Madame Kao expensive new clothes and arranging a lavish party for her, to which he invites some of his disreputable friends on the condition that they impersonate the local dignitaries. Meanwhile, a gang war is in full swing, putting Kuo's life in danger and providing ample opportunity for Jackie Chan's trademark stunts. The climactic stunt sequence consists of a lengthy scene of hand-to-hand combat set in a rope factory.

[edit] Cast & Crew

[edit] Details & Trivia

  • Other names for this film include: Black Dragon, Miracle, Miracles: The Canton Godfather (UK) (video box title), Mr. Canton and Lady Rose.
  • Awards: Won 'Best Action Choreography' at the Hong Kong Film Award in 1990. Was also nominated for three other awards at the same ceramony, including; Best Actor - Jackie Chan; Best Art Direction - Eddie Ma and Best Film Editing - Peter Cheung.
  • According to Jackie's autobiography, Miracles is his favourite film that he has made
  • A typhoon destroyed many of the sets of the film so the crew had to rebuild to finish the production.
  • Jackie Chan is an ardent fan of Hollywood musicals, and Miracles pays tribute to that genre.[2]
  • One of the cast members died on the set after falling.

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnote

1. Thomas, Brian. Videohound's Dragon: Asian Action & Cult Flicks, Gale Group, 2002.

2. ibid.

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