DIRECTOR DEREK YEE Tung-shing likens Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi to a student who can ace exams without studying. 'What she has is inherent talent mixed with skills,' he says. 'She can deliver the emotions very effectively.'
Yee can speak with some authority, having directed Cheung in Lost in Time, one of the favourites for the upcoming 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards.
In the pivotal scene - when Cheung backs out of a hospital emergency room in shock after learning of her fiance's death - Yee allows the camera to capture the tide of emotions washing over her. It's a scene that would have challenged many more experienced, and older, actresses. That Cheung could achieve it at 23, with only five years of acting behind her, is a testament to her talent.
Reinforcing that promise, Cheung goes into the awards as a triple nominee - twice for best actress, for her performances in Lost in Time and Running on Karma, and in the best original song category, with the theme from Lost in Time.
In Lost in Time, Cheung's skills were on full display as she carried the audience with her when her character, Siu Wai, rode one emotional roller coaster after another.
Considering Hong Kong's lacklustre output last year, Cheung's role in Lost in Time is a frontrunner for the awards. It's not unlike Yee's earlier film, C'est la Vie Mon Cheri, which catapulted Anita Yuen Wing-yee to the A-list. The common theme is a woman triumphing in the face of adversity to find love.