After accidentally committing a murder, a young advertising executive is sentenced to three years in prison. His clean looks and straight-forward honesty with the prison staff make him a target for the various triad factions at work in the institution, until he forms an alliance with an older prisoner who knows the ins and outs of the system. Less an action film than a drama in the prison film genre, “Prison on fire” explores themes of honour, loyalty and friendship, capturing the bleakness and despair of prison life through the drab, claustrophobic colour scheme and absence of music. Lam’s portrayal of a Chinese prison eschews the usual prison film cliches, focusing instead on how the prison environment brings out the worst in people. Cast includes Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung and Roy Cheung. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
313368
Language
Chinese
Audience classification
M (15+)
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers → Prison films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)