Tracey is a 2018 Hong Kongdrama film written and directed by Jun Li in his directorial debut and starring Philip Keung as the titular protagonist, 51-year-old married man and father whose craving for feminization increases, leading him to transition from male to female both mentally and physically. Filming for Tracey began on 5 December 2017 and the film premiered at the 2018 Tokyo International Film Festival on 28 October 2018 before it was theatrically released on 22 November 2018 in Hong Kong.
Cast
Philip Keung as Travis Tung, the film's 51-year-old protagonist who names himself Tracey after transitioning from male to female.
*Zeno Koo as Young Travis.
Kara Wai as Anne, Travis' 49-year-old wife who is a Cantonese opera actress.
Eric Kot as Chi Chun, Travis' friend.
*Kaki Sham as Young Chi Chun
Lily Leung as Tracey, Travis' mother.
River Huang as Bond Tann, Travis' friend who is a writer.
Ben Yuen as Fa Yim-hung, known as Brother Darling, a Cantonese opera actor who performs in Dan roles.
Jennifer Yu as Brigitte Tung, Travis' and Anne's daughter.
Ng Siu-hin as Vincent Tung, Travis' and Anne's son.
Aaron Chow as Jeffrey, Brigitte's husband.
Panther Chan as Ka-yan, Vincent's girlfriend who is a tattoo artist.
Wong Yat-ho as Ko Ching, Travis' friend and Bond's husband.
Principal photography for Tracey began on 5 December 2017. Philip Keung, who plays the title character, originally felt he was unable to grasp the role of a transgender woman and wanted to decline it, but changed his mind after doing research and meeting with real life transgender people and felt they had many stories that need to be told. Keung also revealed that during filming, he would wear see-through clothes when he went out to the streets to see how pedestrians would react to him.
Release
The film released its first teaser trailer and poster at the 2018 Hong Kong Filmart on 18 March 2018. The poster, which features Keung wearing a blouse and pantyhose, attracted strong attention on the internet, with many internet users praising Keung's look and anticipating his performance in the film.
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, Tracey has an approval rating of 60% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 5.75/10. Elizabeth Kerr of The Hollywood Reporter praises the film's high production standards and its moving and thought-provoking drama, as well as the performances by Philip Keung, Kara Wai and Ben Yuen. Edmund Lee of the South China Morning Post gave the film a score of 4/5 stars praising the acting performances and nuanced writing.
