Hong Kong filmmaker Yonfan's new movie, Prince of Tears, works as an antidote to the nationalist fervour of Founding of a Republic. It's all about the anti-communist hysteria in 1950s Taiwan - and it will compete for Hong Kong at the Oscars for best foreign picture this year.
The film won't be released until next week, but the producers are already promoting its evocative soundtrack, which will likely make a star of Indonesian-Chinese accordion player Lee Chee-wah (pictured). His soulful performance is dubbed over the main character (played by Joseph Chang Hsiao-chuan), who mimes playing the instrument throughout.
'I started playing accordion in 1958,' Lee, 74, said at the soundtrack launch at Elements' HMV store, alongside singer George Lam Chi-cheung, who is also featured on the theme song.
'I came to China when I was in my 20s and studied music at the Central Conservatory of Music [now Tianjin Conservatory of Music] in the 1950s. At the time, music in China was greatly influenced by Russia. I still remember the first time I heard the sound of an accordion. I fell in love right away.' Over the past 50 years, Lee has enjoyed some memorable experiences, including backing the late opera great Luciano Pavarotti in 2002. 'When I finished playing, he turned around ... and said he had never heard such a beautiful accordion for a long, long time. I was so honoured. Interestingly, we were born in the same year, 1935.'
The soundtrack is out now, while the movie will be released on October 22.