# All About Ah-Long (阿郎的故事)
**All About Ah-Long** (阿郎的故事) is a 1989 Hong Kong family melodrama directed by [Johnnie To](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnnie-to), starring [Chow Yun-fat](https://www.edgepedia.org/chow-yun-fat) as a former motorcycle racer who raises his young son alone until the boy's mother, who was led to believe the child had died, returns to Hong Kong. It was produced by [Cinema City](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinema-city), released in Hong Kong on 16 March 1989, and won Chow Yun-fat the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) • [2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1972040/info/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 阿郎的故事 (Ah Long dik goo si); also known as 又见阿郎 (You jian A Lang)[2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1972040/info/) |
| Director / producer | Johnnie To; produced by Raymond Wong Bak-ming for Cinema City[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) • [3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm) |
| Cast | Chow Yun-fat, Sylvia Chang, Wong Kwan-Yuen (Huang Kun-hsuan), Ng Man-Tat, Wong Tin-lam[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) • [3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm) |
| Release | 16 March 1989, Hong Kong; Cantonese, color, 35mm[2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1972040/info/) • [1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) |
| Running time | 99 minutes per the Hong Kong Film Archive; other databases list 95 to 117 minutes[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) • [2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1972040/info/) |
| Box office | About HK$30 million, cited in 2015 as a record for a Hong Kong literary drama[4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%98%BF%E9%83%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B/5341777?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) |
| Major award | Best Actor, 9th Hong Kong Film Awards (1990), for Chow Yun-fat[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Ah Long (Chow Yun-fat) is a talented motorcycle racer involved with Por Por (Sylvia Chang), the daughter of a wealthy family. After the relationship breaks down over his infidelity, he is jailed for illegal racing. When Por Por gives birth, her mother misleads her into believing the baby died, and she leaves Hong Kong for the United States in grief.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) • [5](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/fahk40098694/)
After his release, Ah Long retrieves his son Porky (Wong Kwan-Yuen) and raises him alone while working as a construction-site driver. Ten years later, Porky is chosen to audition for a television commercial whose director turns out to be Por Por, back in Hong Kong and unaware that the boy is her own son. She discovers the truth and wants to take Porky to America for a better education and living environment. Ah Long, who still loves her, pushes the boy toward his mother, and to prove he has changed he returns to motorcycle racing despite his age and an old injury. During the race his motorcycle goes out of control and he dies in the crash, which Por Por and Porky witness.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) • [2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1972040/info/) • [5](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/fahk40098694/)
## Origins and production
**A story from its stars.** The film's story is credited to Chow Yun-fat and Sylvia Chang, an unusual writing credit for Chow, whose only other story credit is the 1995 film *Peace Hotel*; Chang had already begun moving from actress and pop star to writer and director. Screenwriters Ng Man-fai and Philip Cheng developed the script. The critic Sean Gilman, who writes about Hong Kong cinema, notes that the film takes the Oscar-winning American drama *Kramer vs. Kramer* as a starting point, but treats it as a class allegory rather than a custody battle: Chang's character represents cosmopolitan American wealth, while To contrasts realist images of working-class Hong Kong with the gloss of the upper class.[6](https://www.thechinesecinema.com/all-about-ah-long-johnnie-to-1989/)
**Johnnie To at Cinema City.** To had returned to feature filmmaking in 1986 under producer Raymond Wong at Cinema City, making comedies such as *Happy Ghost III* and *Seven Years Itch*, followed in 1988 by the hit farce *[The Eighth Happiness](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-eighth-happiness)* and the crime picture *[The Big Heat](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-big-heat-1988-film)*. *All About Ah-Long* reunited him with *The Eighth Happiness* star Chow and *Seven Years Itch* star Chang, and, like his four previous films, was produced by Wong for Cinema City, but it was a more dramatically ambitious work.[6](https://www.thechinesecinema.com/all-about-ah-long-johnnie-to-1989/) The Hong Kong Film Archive's program notes describe the film as having a minimalist plot that stays close to everyday life, drawing its drama from the emotions of romance and family rather than complicated or sensational devices.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html)
## Reception and awards
The film became one of the biggest hits of 1989 at the Hong Kong box office, nearly matching *The Eighth Happiness*'s number-one ranking for the year.[6](https://www.thechinesecinema.com/all-about-ah-long-johnnie-to-1989/) At the 9th Hong Kong Film Awards in 1990, Chow Yun-fat won Best Actor, his third win in that category, following *A Better Tomorrow* and *[City on Fire](https://www.edgepedia.org/city-on-fire-ep95yzdd6r)*.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm) • [7](https://www.sogoodreviews.com/reviews/allaboutahlong.htm) The film received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Sylvia Chang), Best Supporting Actor and Best New Artist (both Wong Kwan-Yuen), Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Song for "Ah Long's Love Song", performed by Sam Hui Koon-Kit.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm) Wong Kwan-Yuen won Best Supporting Actor at the 34th Asian Pacific Film Festival for his performance as Porky.[8](https://www.yesasia.com/us/all-about-ah-long/4463-0-0-0-en/info.html) IMDb also records a 1989 Fipresci Prize and a Best Leading Actor win at the Golden Kite Awards.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098694/awards/)
Reviewers have generally praised the performances while noting the melodramatic ending. LoveHKFilm's review calls Chow charismatic and likable even in an against-type role, but finds the motorcycle-racing subplot gratuitous, arriving mainly to supply a dramatic finish.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm) A YesAsia professional review highlights Chow's versatility in a role far removed from his usual suave charmers, and Sylvia Chang's nominated performance, which keeps the audience from siding wholly with Ah Long.[8](https://www.yesasia.com/us/all-about-ah-long/4463-0-0-0-en/info.html)
## Music
The film's songs became closely identified with it. The theme song "Ah Long's Love Song" (阿郎戀曲) was performed by [Sam Hui](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-hui), and Lo Ta-yu's "Lianqu 1990" (戀曲1990) is credited as a theme song in Chinese-language databases; the score is credited to Law Tai-yau and Lo Sai-kit at the Hong Kong Film Awards.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm) • [2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1972040/info/) Gilman describes the film as mixing a class-conscious New Wave aesthetic with the pop-song montages of commercial Hong Kong cinema.[6](https://www.thechinesecinema.com/all-about-ah-long-johnnie-to-1989/)
## Legacy
The film is remembered as a key early dramatic work in Johnnie To's career, made a decade before he became known internationally for crime films such as *The Mission*; the Busan International Film Festival's career summary lists *All About Ah-Long* among his notable films.[10](https://biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14296&pyear=2009) Its box-office total of about HK$30 million was cited in 2015 as a record for a Hong Kong literary drama.[4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%98%BF%E9%83%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B/5341777?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) The film has been screened at the Hong Kong Film Archive and has circulated on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming platforms, with a digitally remastered DTS edition released in Hong Kong.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html) • [11](https://www.yesasia.com/global/%E9%98%BF%E9%83%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B-dts%E7%89%88-%E6%95%B8%E7%A2%BC%E4%BF%AE%E5%BE%A9-%E6%A8%82%E8%B2%BF%E7%89%88-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E7%89%88/1004179906-0-0-0-zh_TW/info.html) In an interview quoted by the Archive, Chow summarized the film's message: the important things in life are not fame and fortune, but the experience itself.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html)
## References
1. [All About Ah Long, Hong Kong Film Archive programme notes](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2016-9-1-26.html)
2. [阿郎的故事 (1989), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1972040/info/)
3. [All About Ah Long (1989), LoveHKFilm review and awards list](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/all_about_ah_long.htm)
4. [阿郎的故事（1989年杜琪峰执导的剧情片）, 百度百科](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%98%BF%E9%83%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B/5341777?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)
5. [阿郎的故事 ALL ABOUT AH LONG, 開眼電影網](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/fahk40098694/)
6. [All About Ah-Long (Johnnie To, 1989), The Chinese Cinema (Sean Gilman)](https://www.thechinesecinema.com/all-about-ah-long-johnnie-to-1989/)
7. [All About Ah Long (1989), sogoodreviews.com](https://www.sogoodreviews.com/reviews/allaboutahlong.htm)
8. [All About Ah Long professional review, YesAsia](https://www.yesasia.com/us/all-about-ah-long/4463-0-0-0-en/info.html)
9. [All About Ah-Long (1989) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098694/awards/)
10. [Johnnie To career archive, Busan International Film Festival](https://biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14296&pyear=2009)
11. [阿郎的故事 (DTS版) (數碼修復), YesAsia](https://www.yesasia.com/global/%E9%98%BF%E9%83%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B-dts%E7%89%88-%E6%95%B8%E7%A2%BC%E4%BF%AE%E5%BE%A9-%E6%A8%82%E8%B2%BF%E7%89%88-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E7%89%88/1004179906-0-0-0-zh_TW/info.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 1980s › Released 1986 to 1989*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license