3/5 stars
No Such Person is a rarity in Hong Kong cinema nowadays: a low-budget, purely commercial production with a no-name ensemble cast and minimal artistic flair whose producers nevertheless believe it can attract an audience with its attentive storytelling.
The film opens with a brief scene in which two people, purporting to be church officials, take over a vacant space in an old tenement building. It then jumps nine months ahead to follow young woman Amber (Kaylee Yu Hoi-ki) as she begins renting a furnished room in a property owned by Ray (Terry Zou Wenzheng), who claims to be a veterinary surgeon.
In the next scene, police are notifying the parents of a woman whose body has been found under a cliff along a hiking trail in a Hong Kong country park.
And then we’re back to learn more about those occupying the rooms next to Amber’s: Sisi (Winnie Chan Wing-nei), a live-streamer who produces sexually charged content for her audience; Ming (Himmy Wong Ting-him), a stock market speculator in deep financial trouble; and Ping (May Leong Cheok-mei), a creepy old lady who sells second-hand items on the streets.
From there, No Such Person gradually reveals the predicament of Amber, a former yoga teacher who appears to be in some emotional distress; the mystery surrounding Ray’s premises and the characters’ ulterior motives provide much of the intrigue.
Despite the film being set in a subdivided flat – a mainstay of Hong Kong social realist dramas – and having as its subject matter the prevalent social phenomenon of identity theft scams, Sun and his screenwriter Chen Hang have no ambitions beyond serving up a modest slice of B-movie entertainment.
Their film drip-feeds just enough information to keep the viewer engaged, before an escalation in the final act reveals the ungodly nature of the whole enterprise.
Even then, the visual depictions of sex and gore remain tame – which is probably more a reflection of the production’s limited scale than of a penchant for restraint on the part of Sun.
Its story is not as clever as the filmmakers intend it to be, and the sleazy nature of its revelations betrays Sun’s roots as a director and producer of erotic movies. Yet No Such Person is diverting enough for those who watch it with an open mind.
At the risk of damning it with faint praise, the film feels different from most Hong Kong productions we’re getting to see these days – and that does make No Such Person a welcome addition to the canon in spite of its many flaws.