Protégé (film)

Protégé
Protégé Theatrical Poster
Traditional	門徒
Simplified	门徒
Mandarin	Mén Tú
Cantonese	Mun4 Tou4
Directed by	Derek Yee
Produced by	Peter Chan
Written by	Derek Yee
Starring	Andy Lau Daniel Wu Louis Koo Zhang Jingchu Anita Yuen
Music by	Peter Kam
Cinematography	Venus Keung Chan Wai-lin
Edited by	Kong Chi-leung
Distributed by	Hong Kong: Gala Film Distribution Singapore: Golden Village Pictures Mediacorp Raintree Pictures
Release dates	13 February 2007 (2007-02-13) (Hong Kong) 15 February 2007 (2007-02-15) (Singapore)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	Hong Kong Singapore
Language	Cantonese
Box office	HK26,280,000

Protégé is a 2007 Hong Kong-Singaporean co-produced crime drama film written and directed by Derek Yee, starring Andy Lau, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo, Zhang Jingchu and Anita Yuen.

Plot

Undercover officer Nick had spent the last seven years penetrating into the core of a drug ring, working his way up from a street dealer post to the managerial position handling cargo deliveries for Kwan – the biggest player in the local heroin market. When the ailing Kwan makes Nick his protégé, Nick cannot help but sway before money and power and starts to perform his role like a real drug trafficker. This, together with his affair with heroin-addict Jane, causes Nick to become more and more confused about his true identity, and eventually leads to a disastrous end.

The film begins with a scene in a dark isolated rundown apartment building, showing a heroin addict living poorly with her young daughter. The scene then forwards to the perspective of Officer Nick who is suffering from loneliness just after completing an undercover assignment. He recalls the entire story of what happened and the events to lead to his emptiness.

Premise

Based on materials provided by retired undercover agents of the police force, Protégé attempts to realistically tell the story of undercover agents in the clandestine drug world, who struggle to constantly walk on the fine line between justice and crime, but who will never see the day of serving in the regular police force.

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews. Perry Lam, for example, wrote in Muse magazine, 'The movie is powerful precisely because it doesn't preach, and therefore spares us all the usual opinions, standard platitudes and naive assumptions about drug dealing and addiction.'^[1]

Cast

• Andy Lau as Lam Kwan
• Daniel Wu as Nick (Lee Chi-lik)
• Louis Koo as Fan's husband
• Zhang Jingchu as Fan (Pang Yuk-fan)
• Anita Yuen as Kwan's wife
• Derek Yee as Miu Chi-wah
• He Meitian as Kwan's sister in-law
• Liu Kai-chi as HKCED Customs Chief
• Nirut Sirijanya as Gen Chanchai

DVD release

Region 1 DVD (US & Canada)

On 24 February 2009 Dragon Dynasty, released "Protégé" on Region 1 DVD:

Special Features:

• Feature Length Audio Commentary with Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan
• The Making of Protégé Undercover & Over the Edge: An Exclusive Interview with Leading Man Daniel Wu
• Chasing the Dragon: An Exclusive Interview with Leading Lady Zhang Jingchu
• The Dealer: An Exclusive Interview with Producer Peter Chan
• Original Theatrical Trailer

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of Dragon Dynasty releases

References

External links

• Official website
• Protégé at the Internet Movie Database
• Protégé at AllMovie
• Protégé at Rotten Tomatoes
• HK cinemagic entry