Tempting Heart
1999 Hong Kong film by Sylvia Chang
title: "Tempting Heart" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1999-romantic-drama-films", "1999-films", "hong-kong-lgbtq-related-films", "lesbian-related-films", "self-reflexive-films", "films-directed-by-sylvia-chang", "1999-hong-kong-films", "1999-lgbtq-related-films", "hong-kong-romantic-drama-films", "lgbtq-related-romantic-drama-films"] description: "1999 Hong Kong film by Sylvia Chang" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempting_Heart" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1999 Hong Kong film by Sylvia Chang ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Tempting Heart |
| image | Tempting Heart (film).jpg |
| director | Sylvia Chang |
| producer | |
| writer | |
| starring | |
| music | Kay Huang |
| cinematography | Mark Lee Ping-bing |
| editing | Kwong Chi-Leung |
| released | |
| runtime | 115 minutes |
| country | Hong Kong |
| language | Cantonese |
| gross | |
| :: |
| name = Tempting Heart | image = Tempting Heart (film).jpg
| caption = | director = Sylvia Chang | producer = | writer = | narrator = | starring = | music = Kay Huang | cinematography = Mark Lee Ping-bing | editing = Kwong Chi-Leung | distributor = | released = | runtime = 115 minutes | country = Hong Kong | language = Cantonese | budget = | gross =
Tempting Heart () is a 1999 Hong Kong romantic drama film directed and co-written by Sylvia Chang. It stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung as a pair of onscreen lovers. The film has a notable theme song "Xin Dong", performed by Shino Lin Xiao Pei, which became a radio hit and can still be frequently heard on the radio or at karaoke bars/boxes.
The success of Tempting Heart prompted director Johnnie To to cast Kaneshiro and Leung in his 2003 film Turn Left Turn Right.
Plot
Sylvia Chang plays a director who intends to make a romance film and begins to wonder about the role fate plays in relationships. She ends up re-examining her own first love in a completely different light. The story is set in two different periods of time, one in the 1970s where Gigi plays the teenage Xiao-rou, and the other in the 1990s where Sylvia plays the older Xiao-rou.
Takeshi Kaneshiro plays the role of a shy teenager, Ho-jun, who falls in love with Xiao-rou (played by Gigi Leung). Their relationship turns intimate but faces fierce objections from their parents. Karen Mok plays Chen-li, Xiao-rou's best friend, whom Xiao-rou confides in.
This teenage love soon fizzles out owing to misunderstandings and Ho-jun, after many years, turns to marry Chen-li. One day, Chen-li reveals that she is a lesbian and that they both love the same girl – Xiao-rou.
Ho-jun meets Xiao-rou on a trip to Japan and upon knowing that Ho-jun is already married, Xiao-rou returns home and gets herself engaged. Ho-jun manages a last attempt to reunite with Xiao-rou by flying to Hong Kong and telling her that he is already a divorcee, but it is to no avail.
Years later, Xiao-rou finds out that Ho-jun's wife was actually Chen-li. She discovers this only after Chen-li has died. Chen-li leaves a message for Xiao-rou asking her for forgiveness. As Xiao rou prepares to fly back to Hong Kong from Japan, she receives a present from Ho-jun. In the box were photographs, taken when Ho-jun was thinking about Xiao-rou and of their brief moments of happiness.
It is only at the end of the film when it is tactfully revealed that the director Sylvia Chang was actually re-enacting her own teenage romance.
Cast
- Takeshi Kaneshiro – Ho-jun
- Gigi Leung – Sheo-rou (Xiao-rou)
- Karen Mok – Chen-Li
- Sylvia Chang – Cheryl
- Leon Dai – Ho-jun (middle age)
- Elaine Jin – Sheo-rou's mom
- Jo Kuk
- Audrey Mak
- William So – Screenwriter
- Michael Tong
- Cher Yeung
References
References
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::