`Perhaps Love' top Chinese prize nominee

Jacky Cheung and Zhou Xun (right) in "Perhaps Love"

HONG KONG - Peter Chan's musical movie "Perhaps Love" racked up the most nominations in the 43rd Golden Horse Awards, but a fellow Hong Kong director's comeback film and a Chinese mainland newcomer's heist comedy also emerged as top contenders in the major categories.

"Perhaps Love," starring Zhou Xun, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jacky Cheung, earned 12 nominations in the Chinese-speaking world's equivalent of the Oscars.

The bulk of the nominations are for technical awards, but the movie is also in contention for best film, best director for Chan and best actress for China's Zhou, who has already dominated the Hong Kong movie awards circuit this year with her performance as a movie star caught between past and present loves.

Accumulating fewer nominations but well represented in key categories were "After This Our Exile," Hong Kong director Patrick Tam's first movie in 17 years, and surprisingly, up-and-coming Chinese director Ning Hao's "Crazy Stone," a laugher about scrappy thieves who covet a precious stone.

"After This Our Exile," a painstakingly told story of a deadbeat father, is competing for best film, best original screenplay, best supporting actor for Goum Ian Iskandar and best actor for Aaron Kwok, a Hong Kong pop idol who's trying to become a serious actor.

All eyes are on whether Kwok, a surprise best-actor winner last year for "Divergence," can repeat. He delivers an impressive performance in his lead role as a desperate gambler whose family falls apart.

"Crazy Stone," which has drawn comparisons to "Ocean's Eleven," received nominations for best screenplay, best director and best film.

Hong Kong director Johnnie To's stylish gangster film "Exiled" and script writer-turned-director Su Chao-pin's horror film "Silk" also offer serious competition. Both movies and both directors are up for best film and best director.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan on Nov. 25.