| Despite its risque content, "The Mistress" film follows Cocteau's dictum that you should "never state what you can imply". Critics applauded the way Kwok's work was genuinely erotic rather than sexually explicit. The ideas are more shocking than the visuals, though this didn't stop the Hong Kong censors slapping 'The Mistress' with a Category III rating, the equivalent of an adult certificate. Kwok herself was shocked by the rating. "If I'd known they were going to give me a category III anyway," she jokes, "maybe I'd have been tempted to make the film genuinely outrageous!"
Unable to afford an established Hong Kong actress, Kwok cast first-timer Jacqueline Pang in the central role of Alex. Pang, who lives in Las Vegas, had genuinely never acted before. Luckily, she was surrounded by more experienced players, as some local performers warmed to the idea of working on a quality production. Award-winning actor Ray Lui agreed to play the film's philandering husband, while Mainland-born actress Vicky Chen signed on to appear as his mistress. Chen is best-known worldwide for her performance in the Media Asia-produced 'Foreign Moon' The third major role, that of Alex's artist boyfriend Eric, went to actor Moses Chan, a veteran of the recent Media Asia release 'Gen-X Cops' and 'Purple Storm'. Kwok herself makes a Hitchcock-ian cameo appearance, but the rest of the cast is made up of unknowns. "In the end, we got the best cast a first-time director could hope for," she says, "which is one totally committed to the project itself, rather than money or ego." |
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