Fulltime Filmmaker

Hong kong film people have a well-earned rep as the hardest workers in show biz. In the mid-'80s Chow Yun-fat made a dozen pictures a year. But now that the local industry is crawling out of a post-'97 abyss, in which Hollywood films ruled while the home team slumped, it's almost unfair that one man should be hogging the box-office receipts and the critical laurels.

But at 46, Johnnie To Kei-fung is too busy to worry about being too busy. This summer, like last summer, he produced and co-directed two hit movies. The first, in June, was the...