Lawyer Lawyer (Chinese: 算死草; Jyutping: syun3 sei2 cou2; lit. 'compute death weed') is a 1997 Hong Kong comedy film produced, directed and co-written by Joe Ma.

Lawyer Lawyer
算死草
Directed byJoe Ma
Written byJoe Ma
Wong Ho-Wa
Produced byJoe Ma
StarringStephen Chow
Eric Kot
Karen Mok
Chingmy Yau
CinematographyCheung Man-Po
Edited byCheung Ka-Fai
Kong Chi-Leung
Music byLincoln Lo
Distributed byCameron Entertainment
Release date
  • 1 August 1997 (1997-08-01)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese

Plot

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Stephen Chow stars as Chan Mong-Gut, a famous Chinese lawyer who was killed in the Qing dynasty. He must defend his apprentice, Foon, who has been framed for murder in Hong Kong. Being the third worst lawyer in China, he challenges the British legal system with no evidence on hand and manages to identify the killer in a hilarious way.

Political themes

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The film was released during the same year as the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong. As the film deals specifically with the issue of justice, it can be interpreted as responding to the fears of the PRC takeover and to the general uncertainty of what that meant to the people of Hong Kong, as long as you ignore the content of the movie itself, which implicates the UK as the source of injustice. The film promotes a normative vision of justice that can prevail over any tyranny, suggesting that knowledge of law, and the freedom to express it, is more important than brute strength (as embodied by the trials and tribulations of Chang Mong-Gut over countless foes).

Cast

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