The romantic comedy "Crossing Hennessy," written and directed by Ivy Ho, gets its name from the busy street that runs through the heart of Hong Kong's Wan Chai District.
It's in this setting, amid the neon streets filled with plumbing stores and appliance shops—where the characters work—that two single people are pushed together by their busybody matchmaking families. Jacky Cheung plays a middle-aged man haunted by an old flame, and Tang Wei is a young woman who's waiting for her boyfriend to be released from prison.
Ms. Ho describes the story as showing "how two hearts are changed over time." An accomplished screenwriter whose many credits include 1996's "Comrades: Almost a Love Story," considered by critics to be one of the decade's best Chinese movies, Ms. Ho is now a two-time director-writer. "Crossing Hennessy" follows last
year's romantic drama "Claustrophobia."
Whether for comedy or drama, Ms. Ho continues to find creative inspiration in human relationships.
"There are no adventures anymore," she says, "Every corner of the world has been conquered.
"The only mystery left is the human heart. That's the one thing you can never really understand, although you think you do."
