His career as a filmmaker started in 1984 and he quickly gained commercial success with several Hong Kong romances and melodramas while simultaneously launching the careers of Maggie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat. From the mid-1990s, he steered away from the mainstream market, making internationally praised queer and arthouse cinema. Prince of Tears (2009) was Hong Kong’s selection to compete in the Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film.