{{Short description|1999 Hong Kong film by Sylvia Chang}} {{more citations needed|date=April 2019}} {{Use Hong Kong English|date=November 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Tempting Heart | image = Tempting Heart (film).jpg | caption = | director = Sylvia Chang | producer = {{ubl|John Chong|Solon So}} | writer = {{ubl|Sylvia Chang|Cat Kwan}} | narrator = | starring = {{ubl|Takeshi Kaneshiro|Gigi Leung|Karen Mok}} | music = Kay Huang | cinematography = Mark Lee Ping-bing | editing = Kwong Chi-Leung | distributor = | released = {{film date|df=yes|1999|09|23|Hong Kong}} | runtime = 115 minutes | country = Hong Kong | language = Cantonese | budget = | gross = {{HKD|12,463,633}}<ref>{{cite web |title=1999 香港票房 |url=http://www.boxofficecn.com/hkboxoffice1999 |website=boxofficecn |accessdate=31 March 2025}}</ref> }}
'''''Tempting Heart''''' ({{lang-zh|c=心動}}) 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<ref>{{Cite web |title=君のいた永遠( |url=http://toho.co.jp/towa/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991006023253/http://toho.co.jp/towa/ |archive-date=1999-10-06 |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=toho.co.jp}}</ref>.
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
== Awards and nominations == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Awards !Category !Name !Result |- | rowspan="5" | 36th Golden Horse Awards |Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature | |{{nom}} |- |Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress | Elaine Jin |{{nom}} |- |Golden Horse Award for Best Cinematography | Mark Lee Ping-bing |{{nom}} |- |Best Makeup & Costume Design | Yee Chung-man |{{nom}} |- |Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress | rowspan="2" | Gigi Leung |{{nom}} |- | rowspan="2" |Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award |Best Actress |{{nom}} |- |Films of Merit | |{{won}} |- | rowspan="3" |Golden Bauhinia Awards | rowspan="2" |Best Supporting actress | Elaine Jin |{{nom}} |- | Karen Mok |{{nom}} |- | Best Actress | rowspan="2" | Gigi Leung |{{nom}} |- | rowspan="6" |19th Hong Kong Film Awards | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress |{{nom}} |- | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director | Sylvia Chang |{{nom}} |- | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay | Sylvia Chang、Cat Kwan |{{won}} |- | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress | Elaine Jin |{{nom}} |- | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Art Direction | Man Lim Chung |{{won}} |- | Best Costume Make Up Design | Yee Chung-man |{{nom}} |}
==See also== * List of Hong Kong films
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0215240}} * [http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=807 HK Cinemagic entry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630100308/http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=807 |date=30 June 2022 }}
{{Sylvia Chang}}
Category:1999 romantic drama films Category:1999 films Category:Hong Kong LGBTQ-related films Category:Lesbian-related films Category:Self-reflexive films Category:Films directed by Sylvia Chang Category:1999 Hong Kong films Category:1999 LGBTQ-related films Category:Hong Kong romantic drama films Category:LGBTQ-related romantic drama films