Produced by Johnnie To & Yau Nai Hoi, the gritty Milkyway thriller Trivisa stars Richie Jen, Gordon Lam & Jordan Chan as notorious criminals facing crossroads in their lives & livelihoods on the eve of Hong Kongs Handover back to China in 1997. New directors Frank Hui, Vicky Wong & Jevons Au are each responsible for one actors portion in the tense collision course of three thieves of different feathers, all of whom are inspired by infamous real-life mobsters that topped Hong Kongs most wanted list. Like with the Election series, Trivisa is more than just a crime thriller: the films characters & choices reflect on the Hong Kong mentality & feelings of insecurity, frustration, anger & helplessness as the Handover looms ahead. Trivisa swept Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing & Best Actor for Gordon Lam at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Known for brazen armed robberies & police shootouts in broad daylight, Yip Kwok Foon (Richie Jen) decides to hang up his boots & seek his fortunes in the profitable trade of cross-border electronics smuggling. Though the money is good, he has to constantly wine, dine & kowtow to corrupt Chinese officials to get things done, a process that eats away at his pride. The cautious & meticulous Kwai Ching Hung (Gordon Lam) has pulled off numerous small-scale heists in his time, but hes managed to stay off the police radar by using pseudonyms & maintaining a low profile. The flashy & lavish Cheuk Tse Keung (Jordan Chan) makes his money through abducting & extorting tycoons, & he lives it up accordingly in the loudest & flashiest of ways. These three kings of thieves have nothing to do with each other, but rumors begin to spread in the underworld that theyre planning to join forces to pull off something big before the Handover.