God of Gamblers

This film (drama)Also known as赌神之神，is aHong Kong, ChinaProducerwomen sex，At2002Released in year 。The dialogue language isCantonese，Current Douban rating5.9(For reference only)。

Compared to the mainland, Hong Kong often features specialized gospel films, which is a unique characteristic. Although these films are funded by gospel organizations to promote the divine and intend to save all beings, they do not follow the rigid, dogmatic form of simply singing hymns as one might imagine. Some of the gospel films released in the last two years possess high artistic value; in terms of story themes and genres, they are on par with similar films, and in many aspects, they even exceed them as these films are produced by professional filmmakers. This film is yet another new gospel piece, with the protagonist this time being a gambling god rather than a gangster or delinquent as seen in "Life of a Loser." Behind the gambling god is a god: The life of Asia's gambling king, Lin Zai Shao, is full of legend. In his youth, Lin Zai Shao was determined to become a true king of gambling and to prosper from it. Ultimately, his dream came true when he won a competition with his card-changing skills in the Asian gambling king finals, becoming the king of Asia in gambling. Lin Zai Shao achieved countless victories thanks to his superhuman card-changing skills, but his talent was actually obtained from the devil. To continue to please the devil, Lin Zai Shao became estranged from his family, even driving away his wife and children, enduring solitude for the sake of winning. Although aided by the devil, his victories were not attained without cost; a prerequisite was that he had to find another soul to replace his own. For this, he chose dealer Hui to be his substitute. However, the mysterious forces ultimately left him with massive debts, and under pressure, he chose to commit suicide. At this moment, God saved him, and he realized that the casino was like an abyss, revealing the true face of the devil before him. Devoted believer Pan Jiafu: The film's director, Pan Jiafu, is a devout believer and a very professional filmmaker. He has 14 years of experience in television, having risen from assistant director and administrative assistant to director. His career ups and downs did not change his career goal, which is to hone his skills in directing and filming, and after gaining expertise, to produce gospel films. Encouraged by his beliefs, the television series he participated in include many well-known works, such as "Ten Tigers of Guangdong," "Across the Seas," and "I Have a Date with a Zombie." It wasn't until last year that he left Asian Television, where he had worked for many years, to become a freelance director. His first project was the gospel film "Life of a Loser," starring Zhu Yin and members of the former Beyond band, Huang Guanzhong, which received widespread acclaim after its release, leveraging both the starpower of Zhu Yin and social issues like juvenile crime as selling points; the film's performance was quite good. Similar to "Life of a Loser," this film is also based on real events. Shooting began in July of last year and was completed in Hong Kong and Malaysia in just over a month; however, post-production was delayed until March of this year due to funding issues. It is said that during filming in Malaysia, the crew received substantial sponsorship from local Christians, who donated a lot of resources to the film. According to the director, the shoot in Malaysia was also blessed by divine intervention; rain scenes did not require artificial rainmaking because the weather was favorable, providing a timely rain for the shoot. Could it be that God truly favors His disciples? Wang Jie turns his life around: After joining Emperor Entertainment, singer Wang Jie seemed to see little progress in his singing career, and there were rumors that he had been hidden by the company. In fact, being hidden or not is irrelevant for a singer who is showing signs of aging; what matters is how to move forward, and acting could be a viable path. As early as 1989, Wang Jie starred in director Zhu Yanping's "Seven Wolves" alongside Zhang Yusheng and others, followed by films such as "Dragon in the Wild." Notably, in 2000, Wang Jie starred in multiple films, including "Love and Integrity" and "The Legend of the Racing God," suggesting he intended to make further progress in his acting career, yet the following year was somewhat disappointing as he only filmed this one movie. It’s uncertain whether Wang Jie is a Christian, but he might be close to it. After experiencing the male lead's journey in this film, he has reason to believe that perhaps there really are divine beings in this world capable of offering blessings and salvation. It remains unclear who gave Wang Jie the title of "prodigal," perhaps due to his somewhat carefree demeanor. Attentive viewers might recall Wang Jie’s role as the fastest card dealer in "The Conmen 2" directed by Johnnie To in '91, also a gambler, but overshadowed by Andy Lau. It is regrettable that Wang Jie didn't leverage his influence in the music industry to expand his acting career; although he now claims not to care about being the lead or a supporting role and wishes to act more, it may be somewhat too late.