Law Kar

Directing

Law Kar

Acting credits

Love in a Fallen City poster
6.4

Taking place in 1941, Love in a Fallen City centers on Pai, a young woman who has been ostracized by her family for divorcing her rich husband. A local match-maker, Mrs. Hsu, takes pity on Pai and decides to bring her to Hong Kong, under the guise of employing her as the Hsu's nanny, but in reality to introduce her to Fan. Pai and Fan seem to hit it off, but Fan's refusal to marry Pai soon sours things. However, as the Japanese begin to invade Hong Kong, the two begin to realize their true feelings for each other.

Love in a Fallen City

1984

Doctor Mack poster
6.4

Since dropping out from the medical school, Lau Mack has been living a humble but contented life, running a small clinic in a shabby area, treating local inhabitants and poor prostitutes working there. One night, he escorts an injured gun robber to the government hospital, where he unexpectedly meets his old friend from college time, Dr. Jaw, now a reputed surgeon with an aspiration for senior management. To Jaw's bitter surprise, he finds himself outshone by Lau's medical talent and kindness to patients. Jaw is however determined to speed up his career ascent at the expense of Lau. His plots work perfectly, until an accident delivers his life to the mercy of Lau.

Doctor Mack

1995

Golden Gate Girls poster
5.5

The film traces the life and times of Esther Eng, a San Francisco native known as Hong Kong’s first “directress.” She directed 10 Cantonese talkies.

Golden Gate Girls

2013

Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema poster
5.5

An exploration of Chinese cinema and its relationships with gender and sexuality, which the film argues has been more frankly and provocatively explored than in any other national cinema. Utilizing both film excerpts and interviews with many leading directors and academics, the film examines topics such as male bonding in kung fu movies, depictions of same-sex bonding and physical intimacy, the emphasis on women's grievances in melodramas, and the career of Yam Kim-Fai, a Hong Kong actress who spent her life portraying men on and off the screen.

Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema

1998

The Other ½ & the Other ½ poster
8.7

Clara Law's debut feature deals with her common theme of emigration as two people, man and woman, from separate couples, have to room together while their spouses are in America to finalize the Canadian citizenship process.

The Other ½ & the Other ½

1988

Social Worker: "Boy" poster
NR

The second episode of the Hong Kong reclaimed “Social Worker” series (1976)

Social Worker: "Boy"

1976

Cinema Strada poster
NR

Having devoted much of his career to programming and film history research, Law Kar, a.k.a. Uncle Kar, places himself before the camera for the first time. This nostalgic trip down memory lane, as he recounts his personal and cinematic experiences, from film criticism, experimental filmmaking to auditioning for Federico Fellini, cumulates in a brief history of Hong Kong cinema itself. Reflecting on the past 80 years, Law Kar's affectionate documentary sheds light on local movies and Chinese cinema, brooding over the socio-political transformation of our perplexed city, as the restless cinephile ponders the role cinema and art play in times of crisis.

Cinema Strada

2024

Behind the camera

Havana Divas poster
5.0

The story focus on Caridad and Georgina, who had learned the art of Cantonese Opera in Havana as a young age and performed as divas for over a decade before their lives were changed by Fidel Castro's revolution.

Havana Divas

2018

Seven Women: Rosalina Chan poster
NR

The fifth episode of Patrick Tam’s anthology series “Seven Women” (1976), which was the only episode not directed by Patrick Tam but by renowned critic Law Kar

Seven Women: Rosalina Chan

1976

Seven Women: Rosalina Chan poster
NR

The fifth episode of Patrick Tam’s anthology series “Seven Women” (1976), which was the only episode not directed by Patrick Tam but by renowned critic Law Kar

Seven Women: Rosalina Chan

1976

Golden Gate Girls poster
5.5

The film traces the life and times of Esther Eng, a San Francisco native known as Hong Kong’s first “directress.” She directed 10 Cantonese talkies.

Golden Gate Girls

2013

Begging poster
4.0

Begging features Paul Su, the activist known for protesting the fare increase of the Star Ferry, in a striking portrayal of a homeless man. His contemporary plight is interspersed with the ancient wisdom of verses from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.

Begging

1970

Begging poster
4.0

Begging features Paul Su, the activist known for protesting the fare increase of the Star Ferry, in a striking portrayal of a homeless man. His contemporary plight is interspersed with the ancient wisdom of verses from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.

Begging

1970

Begging poster
4.0

Begging features Paul Su, the activist known for protesting the fare increase of the Star Ferry, in a striking portrayal of a homeless man. His contemporary plight is interspersed with the ancient wisdom of verses from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.

Begging

1970

Routine poster
6.0

Routine unfolds like an uninterrupted long take, and depicts a taxi ride from Tsim Sha Tsui Pier to the office of the Chinese Student Weekly in Kowloon Tong. It shows the street scenes of Hong Kong in 1968 and the state of mind of a Hong Kong young man after the 1967 Riot.

Routine

1968

Hong Kong's 1971 Diaoyutai Movement poster
NR

Hong Kong Diaoyutai Movement (1971) documents HK youth protesting the U.S. decision to transfer the disputed Diaoyu Islands to Japan alongside Okinawa's return. The protest joined the transnational Baodiao movement, launched by overseas Chinese students in America and taken up across Taiwan and Hong Kong in defense of Chinese territorial claims. The film was produced by 70s Biweekly, a radical publication that served as a crucial platform for political debate among young Hong Kong intellectuals. Co-founders Ng Chung-yin and Mok Chiu-yu, who organized the demonstrations themselves, commissioned directors Law Kar and Chiu Tak-hak to create a documentary from inside the movement. The camera moves with the protesters, capturing chants, gestures, and surging crowds as they unfold. This approach transforms cinema into a tool of activism—the filmmakers weren't documenting history but participating in it, positioning the camera as part of collective action rather than a neutral observer.

Hong Kong's 1971 Diaoyutai Movement

1971

Lai Man-wai: Father of Hong Kong Cinema poster
NR

In the life of Mr. Lai Man-wai, he had seen the most turbulent times of recent Chinese history. From the fall of the Qing Dynasty to the founding of the Republic, from the Sino-Japanese War to the founding of the People’s Republic. With a patriotic spirit, he joined the revolution and used the theatre to promote the revolutionary course. For a ‘stronger China’, and ‘education for all’, he chose film as his life long goal and career. Lai was more than the father of Hong Kong cinema was; he was also one of the pioneers of the Chinese cinema. He made Hong Kong’s first short fiction film ‘Zhuangzi Tests His Wife’. He opened the first Chinese owned cinema, the New World Cinema, in Hong Kong…. In the several decades, Lai had devoted his life and fortune in writing this glorious inaugural chapter in early Chinese film history. The technical enhancement, the introduction of foreign techniques and equipment were all part of his contribution to the Chinese cinema.

Lai Man-wai: Father of Hong Kong Cinema

2002

Lai Man-wai: Father of Hong Kong Cinema poster
NR

In the life of Mr. Lai Man-wai, he had seen the most turbulent times of recent Chinese history. From the fall of the Qing Dynasty to the founding of the Republic, from the Sino-Japanese War to the founding of the People’s Republic. With a patriotic spirit, he joined the revolution and used the theatre to promote the revolutionary course. For a ‘stronger China’, and ‘education for all’, he chose film as his life long goal and career. Lai was more than the father of Hong Kong cinema was; he was also one of the pioneers of the Chinese cinema. He made Hong Kong’s first short fiction film ‘Zhuangzi Tests His Wife’. He opened the first Chinese owned cinema, the New World Cinema, in Hong Kong…. In the several decades, Lai had devoted his life and fortune in writing this glorious inaugural chapter in early Chinese film history. The technical enhancement, the introduction of foreign techniques and equipment were all part of his contribution to the Chinese cinema.

Lai Man-wai: Father of Hong Kong Cinema

2002

No artwork available
NR

A girl leaves in terror from a house.

Suspicion