Part of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s mission is to foster greater understanding through world cinema. This year 72 Foreign Language films were submitted for Golden Globes consideration. Here is an overview of one of them.

Filmmaker Dante Lam, well known for his crime thrillers, deviates from his usual genre by helming this sports action drama entitled To the Fore. The movie is about cyclist Qiu Ming (Eddie Peng), a young man who is passionate about following his dream of becoming a pro cyclist. Although he is met with criticism, he pursues his dream and begins his career in cycling by joining the Taiwanese Category III team called Radiant.

He makes a lot of friends here but unfortunately, due to insufficient funds to continue the team, Radiant has to break up and the members of the team join various other teams. Portraying the three young leading cyclists are heartthrobs Eddie Peng (Rise of the Legend), the Taiwanese-born Canadian actor who plays the cocky go-getter lead-out Qiu Ming, Shawn Dou (Wolf Totem) from China who acts as the shy but indispensable lead-out Qiu Tian who is unlucky in both romance and fitness, and Si Won Choi (Helios) from South Korea who performs as the sprinter of exceptional speed and control Jeong Ji-Won who has to deal with the ethics of his manager.

Playing Huang Shi Yao, the once promising track cyclist and love interest of both Qiu Ming and Qiu Tian, is actress Luodan Wang from Inner Mongolia, China. Acting as their cycling coach Li is Andrew Lin from Taiwan. The testosterone-filled film focuses on the dream of this trio of cyclist friends who are aspiring to become international cyclists.

Filmed in Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Taiwan, Italy, Korea and even the remote Tengger Desert of China, the movie showcases a lot of heart-stopping crashes, race montages, dangerous relays and other exciting action scenes. Por Fung, the Cantonese title, translates as “breaking the wind” which refers to the cyclist’s need to push the air in front of him. The film deals with the mental struggles of the “lead-outs” when they decide when to take the lead and/or when to step back for the greater good. It also showcases cycling as a sport that provides local pride and self-empowerment. Ultimately it is a film about the passion of the cyclists in their sports, the rivalries, the intrigues, the challenges and the romances.

Janet R. Nepales