Life Without Principles

Director Johnny To's crime thriller "Life without Principles," starring Lau Ching-Wan, Richie Ren and Denise Ho, is the most sincere Hong Kong film in recent years. It initially was screened in Hong Kong in 2011, but hit Chinese mainland's cinemas in Feb. 2012.

The film tells the story of three seemingly ordinary people -- a bank teller, a small-time thug and an honest police inspector-- who are all in dire need of money due to predicaments in their respective individual lives. A bag of stolen money worth 5 million HK dollars suddenly appears out of the blue (actually 10 million HK dollars, one on a half, two on another half), putting all three in a difficult situation which forces them to do some soul searching in order to make decisions involving the concepts of right and wrong.

It is a realistic but ironic portrayal of people in Hong Kong set against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. "Life without Principles" is one of the best in Johnny To's journey into the film noir, and he wants us to think about morality, survival instincts, and what's really important in life.

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