City Without Baseball

2008 film by Lawrence Ah Mon

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City Without Baseball

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Lawrence Ah Mon
Written by| Scud (production-crediting name of Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung)
Produced by| Heman Peng
Starring| Ron Heung Tze-Chun
Leung Yu-Chung
Yuan Lin
John Tai Ji-Ching
Monie Tung Man-Lee
Cinematography| Ying Zhang
Edited by| Kwok-Wing Leung (as Jacky Leung)
Music by| Eugene Pao

Production
company

ArtWalker Productions

Distributed by| Golden Scene (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Release date

* April 2008 (2008-04)

Running time

| 100 minutes
Country| Hong Kong
Language| Cantonese

City Without Baseball (Chinese: 無野之城; stylized: 無野の城; jyutping: mou4 je5 zi1 sing4) is a 2008 Hong Kong drama film starring Ron Heung and other members of the Hong Kong National Baseball Team. It is directed by South African-born Hong Kong filmmaker Lawrence Ah Mon, about a city where baseball is almost unknown, and where the team plays to empty stadia.

The film explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society. The film is the first of seven such films by Scud (the production-crediting name of Hong Kong writer/film producer Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung). The six later films are: Permanent Residence in 2009, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013, Utopians in 2015 and Thirty Years of Adonis in 2017. His eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was his ninth, Bodyshop.[1]

His tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.[1][2]

## Plot

[edit]

The actual members of the Hong Kong National Baseball Team appear in the film as themselves, in a story set in 2004. Their isolated existence leads them to take unconventional choices in both love and friendship, and to summon great courage in the face of their lonely and disconnected existence. The story focuses on the easy-going, yet often detached, main character, Ronnie, as played by Ron Heung, and his friendships and relationships with others, both on and off the sports field.

## Cast

[edit]

* Yu Chung Leung as Chung - Pitcher
* Ron Heung as Ron - Pitcher (as Tze Chun Ron Heung)
* John Tai as Coach Tai
* Jason Tsang as Jason - Catcher
* Jose Au as Jose - Captain (billed as Wing Leung Jose Au)
* Yu Hong Lau as Hong - Second Baseman
* Peter Mak as Peter - Right Outfielder
* Herman Chan as Wah - Middle Outfielder
* Jackie Chow as Jackie - Third Baseman
* Julian Chiu as Julian - First Baseman
* Kenneth Chiu as Kenneth - Pitcher
* Yuan Lin as Meizi (billed as Gia Lin)
* Monie Tung as Kim
* Wei-Sha Yan as Ping (billed as Wei Sha Yan)
* Sean Au as Sir Au
* Allan Mak as Sir Mak
* David Wong as Sir Wong
* Ryan Williams as Kevin
* Calina Chan as Ron's mother
* Winky Wong as Ron's sister
* Belinda Reed as Chung's blonde girlfriend
* Anjo Leung as Bartender / Violinist
* Sean Li as Bartender
* Thomas Price as Daniel / Cable guy (billed as Tom Price)
* Thomas Lee as Ron's new room-mate (billed as Chi Wai Thomas Lee)
* Stanley Kong as Jose's boss
* Heman Peng as Record producer
* Debbie Li as Producer's assistant
* Sammy Andres Jr. as Lead singer
* Ka Wai Chan as Double Bass Player
* Ying Leung Lau as Doctor
* Eva Lo as Ron's ex-girlfriend (billed as Hiu Pui Eva Lo)
* Jimmie Poon as Librarian man
* Shuk Kwan Chen as Ping's Double
* Scud as Teammate

## Awards

[edit]

* 2008 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Winners for Top 7 Suggested Films
* 2008 Taiwan Film Critics Society Awards Winners for Top 10 Best Chinese Films

## Home media

[edit]

A Panorama Distributions Co.:

* VCD first became available on 2008-10-03 (3 October 2008)
* DVD (DVD Region 3) first became available on 2008-10-10 (10 October 2008)
* Blu-ray Disc first became available on 2011-06-03 (3 June 2011)

## See also

[edit]

* Hong Kong films of 2008
* List of baseball films
* List of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films
* List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-related films by storyline
* Nudity in film (East Asian cinema since 1929)
* Weeds on Fire another baseball themed Hong Kong film

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Lo Hoi-ying (20 September 2022). "'We need to be hopeful': Hong Kong queer director Scud, renowned for his sexually explicit art-house movies, on leaving filmmaking". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
2. ^ Gareth Johnson (11 January 2018). "Scud: "I'm reluctant to call Hong Kong home"". Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

## Further reading

[edit]

* "Interview with Lawrence Lau and Scud about City Without Baseball". Hong Kong Cinemagic. 2008.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Chinese)
* City Without Baseball at IMDb
* City Without Baseball at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
* City Without Baseball in the Chinese Movie Database
* 'Mike Reviews' film entry
* City Without Baseball at LoveHKFilm
* City Without Baseball at Hong Kong Cinemagic

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Lawrence Ah Mon

* Gangs (1988)
* Queen of Temple Street (1990)
* Lee Rock (1991)
* Lee Rock II (1991)
* Spacked Out (2000)
* My Name Is Fame (2006)
* City Without Baseball (2008)
* Besieged City (2008)
* Tales from the Dark 2 (2013)
* Dealer/Healer (2017)

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