Asian Film Festival of Dallas

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Dante Lam’s THE STOOL PIGEON is a powerful return to the kind of morally-challenged characters and intense, sometimes brutal action that audiences fell in love with in the AFFD’s 2009 Opening Night film, THE BEAST STALKER.  Starring Nick Cheung and Nicholas Tse (who both give stunning performances), THE STOOL PIGEON deals with the fine line between cops and their undercover informants.

Detective Lee (Cheung) makes a bad call which causes a close informant to be injured; a year later he must locate a new man to go undercover inside a jewel-theft ring.  Ghost, Jr. (Tse) doesn’t want to do it, but Lee can offer deals and apply pressure that make it hard to say no.  Both men are flawed, yet are deeply-affected, multi-layered characters that aren’t so easily branded good or bad.  Lee makes decisions based on the progress of his case, but not always at the benefit of his informant.  Ghost must play a role but can’t decline the chance to do what’s right.  Both are haunted by things they never could completely control.

THE STOOL PIGEON is a sharp, engaging entry into the long line of HK crime dramas that have very nearly shaped perception of that country’s film industry.  The film has also received numerous award nominations, including a Hong Kong Film Awards win for Best Actor (Tse).

Director

Dante Lam

Cast

Nicholas Tse, Nick Cheung, Kwai Lun-mei

Country

Hong Kong

Language

Cantonese, English Subtitles

Alternate Titles

綫人

Release Date

2010

Runtime

113 minutes

Print Source

Well Go USA Entertainment

Exhibition Format

35mm