Office (2015 Hong Kong film)

2015 Hong Kong film

Office

Film poster

Chinese name
Traditional Chinese| 華麗上班族
Simplified Chinese| 华丽上班族
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Huá Lì Shàng Bān Zú
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping| Waa4 Lai6 Seong2 Baan1 Zeok6
Directed by| Johnnie To
Screenplay by| Sylvia Chang
Based on| Design for Living
by Sylvia Chang
Produced by| Johnnie To
Sylvia Chang
Starring| Chow Yun-fat
Sylvia Chang
Eason Chan
Tang Wei
Cinematography| Cheng Siu-Keung
Edited by| David Richardson
Music by| Lo Tayu
Keith Chan Fai-young

Production
companies

Edko Films
Beijing Hairun Pictures
Zhejiang Unique Media
LeVision Pictures
Sun Entertainment Culture
Media Asia Films
Milkyway Image
China Movie Channel
IQIYI Motion Pictures
Huaxia Film Distribution

Distributed by| Edko Films

Release dates

* 2 September 2015 (2015-09-02) (China)
* 24 September 2015 (2015-09-24) (Hong Kong)

Running time

| 117 minutes[1]
Countries| Hong Kong
China
Languages| Cantonese
Mandarin

Office is a 2015 Hong Kong-Chinese musical comedy-drama film produced and directed by Johnnie To and starring Chow Yun-fat, Sylvia Chang, Eason Chan and Tang Wei. The film is an adaptation of the 2008 play Design for Living, which was created by and starred Chang.[2][3] Office premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival[4] and was theatrically released in China on 2 September 2015 and in Hong Kong in 3D on 24 September 2015.[5][6]

## Plot

[edit]

Billion-dollar company Jones & Sunn is going public. Chairman Ho Chung-ping (Chow Yun-fat) has promised CEO Winnie Cheung (Sylvia Chang), who has been his mistress for more than twenty years, that she will become a major shareholder of the company. As the IPO team enters the company to audit its accounts, a series of inside stories starts to be revealed.

Lee Xiang (Wang Ziyi), a new hire at Jones & Sunn, brings with him youthful ideals and dreams. Within the neoliberal market, the logic of intrigue rules, complicated by entanglements of love-hate relationships, which weaves a power play and a pathos-laden tragedy inside the office.

## Cast

[edit]

* Chow Yun-fat as Ho Chung-ping (何仲平)
* Sylvia Chang as Winnie Cheung (張威)
* Eason Chan as David Wong (王大偉)
* Tang Wei as Sophie (蘇菲)
* Wang Ziyi as Lee Xiang (李想)
* Lang Yueting as Kat Ho (何琪琪)
* Cheung Siu-fai as John Suen (孫強)
* Tien Hsin as Ka-ling (嘉玲)
* Timmy Hung as Howard (浩浩)
* Stephanie Che as Ban-ban (班班)
* Mickey Chu as Shum Hoi (沈凱)
* Mimi Kung as Mrs. Ho (何太太)
* Lo Hoi-pang as Jones & Sunn security guard

## Critical reception

[edit]

Office has received positive reviews. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times refers it as "One of the best-directed movies that you can see in New York right now".[7] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film a score of B+ praising the film as dazzling and highlighting director Johnnie To's cutting movement and stunningly composed figures.[8] Tom Huddleston of Time Out gave the film a score of 5 out of 5 stars praising its stylish dance and song sequences, catchy lyrics and its screenplay by Sylvia Chang as a keenly observed, spiky treatise on office politics.[9]

James Marsh of Twitch Film gave the film a mixed review praising the imagination that the staging captures, but criticising the lack of development of Hong Kong's working development and director To's lack of vision and clear intent.[10] Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter praises the film's lavish decorations and technical accomplishments, but criticizes its simplistic screenplay and being unfocused, with little development of the relationships between the characters.[11]

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony  | Category  | Recipient  | Outcome
35th Hong Kong Film Awards[12] | Best Actress | Sylvia Chang | Nominated
Best Art Direction  | William Chang, Alfred Yau  | Won
Best Makeup & Costume Design  | William Chang, Lui Fung-shan  | Nominated
Best Sound Design  | David Richardson, Andrew Tuason,
Wu Shu-yao  | Nominated
Best Visual Design  | Ken Law, Tommy Cheung  | Nominated
Best Original Film Score  | Lo Tayu, Keith Chan Fai-young | Won
52nd Golden Horse Awards'[13] | Best Actress  | Sylvia Chang  | Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay  | Sylvia Chang  | Nominated
Best Art Direction  | William Chang, Alfred Yau  | Won
Best Makeup & Costume Design  | William Chang, Lui Fung-shan  | Nominated
Best Original Film Song  | Song: Why Bother (何必呢)

Composer: Lo Tayu
Lyricist: Lin Xi
Singer: Eason Chan

| Nominated
Best Sound Effects  | Andrew Tuason, Wu Shu-yao,
David Richardson  | Nominated
22nd Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards[14] | Best Film  | Office | Nominated
Best Director  | Johnnie To | Nominated
Best Actress  | Sylvia Chang  | Nominated
Film of Merit  | Office | Won

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "TIFF.net - Office". Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
2. ^ "Johnnie To To Reunite With Chow Yun-fat And Sylvia Chang For An Adaptation Of Design For Living".
3. ^ "杜琪峰張艾嘉合作《華麗上班族》：職場與黑幫不同".
4. ^ "Two Chinese movies to be screened at Toronto film festival". Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
5. ^ "《上班族》發預告 陳奕迅笑稱職場太玩命". Archived from the original on 20 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
6. ^ "[電影預告]《華麗上班族》(OFFICE)，9月24日，華麗獻映". YouTube.
7. ^ Dargis, Manohla (17 September 2015). "Review: In 'Office' by Johnnie To, Ups and Downs of Business". The New York Times.
8. ^ "Johnnie To's Office twists corporate intrigue into an inspired musical". The A.V. Club. 18 September 2015.
9. ^ "Office, directed by Johnnie To Movie review - Time Out".
10. ^ "Review: Johnnie To's OFFICE, Too Much Like Real Work".
11. ^ "'Office' ('Hua Li Shang Ban Zu'/'Wa Lai Seung Ban Tsuk'): TIFF Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 September 2015.
12. ^ "第35屆香港電影金像獎提名名單".
13. ^ "2015 台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival".
14. ^ "第二十二屆香港電影評論學會大獎得獎理由撮要".

## External links

[edit]

* Office

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Johnnie To

Films|

* Happy Ghost III (1986)
* The Eighth Happiness (1988)
* All About Ah-Long (1989)
* The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon (1990)
* Casino Raiders II (1991)
* Justice, My Foot! (1992)
* The Bare-Footed Kid (1993)
* The Heroic Trio (1993)
* The Mad Monk (1993)
* A Moment of Romance III (1996)
* Lifeline (1997)
* A Hero Never Dies (1998)
* Running Out of Time (1999)
* The Mission (1999)
* PTU (2003)
* Breaking News (2004)
* Throw Down (2004)
* Yesterday Once More (2004)
* Election (2005)
* Election 2 (2006)
* Exiled (2006)
* Linger (2008)
* Sparrow (2008)
* Vengeance (2009)
* Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2011)
* Life Without Principle (2011)
* Romancing in Thin Air (2012)
* Drug War (2012)
* Blind Detective (2013)
* Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2 (2014)
* Office (2015)
* Three (2016)
* Chasing Dream (2019)

Films with
Wai Ka-fai|

* Needing You... (2000)
* Wu yen (2001)
* Love on a Diet (2001)
* Fulltime Killer (2001)
* Fat Choi Spirit (2002)
* My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002)
* Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)
* Running on Karma (2003)
* Mad Detective (2007)

Co-director|

* The Big Heat (1988)
* The Royal Scoundrel (1991)
* Executioners (1993)
* Running Out of Time 2 (2001)
* Triangle (2007)
* Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2020)

See also|

* Milkyway Image
* Filmography
* Awards and honors
* Tactical Unit series

* v
* t
* e

Milkyway Image

Films|

* Beyond Hypothermia (1996)
* Intruder (1997)
* The Odd One Dies (1997)
* Final Justice (1996)
* Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997)
* The Longest Nite (1998)
* Expect the Unexpected (1998)
* A Hero Never Dies (1998)
* Where a Good Man Goes (1999)
* Running Out of Time (1999)
* The Mission (1999)
* Sealed with a Kiss (1999)
* Help!!! (2000)
* Needing You... (2000)
* Comeuppance (2000)
* Love on a Diet (2001)
* Fulltime Killer (2001)
* Running Out of Time 2 (2001)
* Gimme Gimme (2001)
* Wu yen (2001)
* Let's Sing Along
* Second Time Around (2001)
* Fat Choi Spirit (2002)
* My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002)
* PTU (2003)
* Looking for Mister Perfect (2003)
* Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)
* Running on Karma (2003)
* Love for All Seasons (2003)
* Breaking News (2004)
* Throw Down (2004)
* Yesterday Once More (2004)
* Election (2005)
* 2 Become 1 (2006)
* Election 2 (2006)
* Exiled (2006)
* Eye in the Sky (2007)
* Triangle (2007)
* Hooked on You (2007)
* Mad Detective (2007)
* Linger (2008)
* Sparrow (2008)
* Tactical Unit - The Code (2008)
* Tactical Unit - No Way Out (2008)
* Tactical Unit - Human Nature (2008)
* Tactical Unit - Comrades in Arms (2009)
* Tactical Unit - Partners (2009)
* Accident (2009)
* Vengeance (2009)
* Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2011)
* Punished (2011)
* Life Without Principle (2011)
* Drug War (2012)
* Blind Detective (2013)
* A Complicated Story (2014)
* Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2 (2014)
* Office (2015)
* Trivisa (2016)
* Three (2016)
* Chasing Dream (2019)
* Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2020)
* Mad Fate (2023)

Filmmakers|

* Johnnie To
* Wai Ka-fai
* Law Wing-cheung
* Patrick Yau
* Matt Chow
* Soi Cheang
* Lawrence Ah Mon
* Ringo Lam
* Tsui Hark
* Jeffrey Lau

Screenwriters|

* Yau Nai-hoi
* Au Kin-yee
* Yip Tin-shing
* Szeto Kam-Yuen
* Ivy Ho

Crew|

* Dennis Law
* Cheng Siu-Keung
* Martin Chappell
* May Mok
* Patrick Tam
* Lai Yiu-fai

See also|

* Tactical Unit series

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