Making Sense and Beauty of Dreams…and Our Worst Fears–Nick Cheung’s Peg O’ My Heart Is a Stunning Visual Experience and Psychological Thriller

Written by Deborah Lau-Yu
Images Provided by Illume films

After years of contemplating and studying his own dreams, Director Nick Cheung has concluded for himself that “what you think is what you dream.”

“Dreams always mercilessly reflect your suppressed emotions and deepest secrets. You cannot share them with others. While good dreams happen, if you frequently have dreams that are sad, dark, remorseful, or scary, it might reflect something deeper within you. To redeem yourself, you have to confront the roots of the problem. Of course, there are also dreams that cannot be remembered afterwards…”

Nick Cheung 張家輝 is the renowned face of many movies and dramas in Hong Kong Chinese pop culture. What comes to mind for many of us who have watched from our living rooms and theatres here in Canada may include unforgettable dramas like TVB’s Secret of the Heart 天地豪情 (1998), Healing Hands 妙手仁心, The Last Breakthrough 天涯俠醫 (2004), and popular films including Nightfall 大追捕 (2012), Dante Lam’s Beast Stalker zheng 證人 (2008) with Nicholas Tse and Zhang Jingchu, and equally impressive blockbuster Unbeatable 激戰 (2013), in which he co-starred with Eddie Peng. In recent years, Cheung has evolved into a directing role for several films. He has shown particular interest in the darker and generally less popular genres of the supernatural and stories of horror. His newest film, Peg O’ My Heart 贖夢 is a psychological thriller which he co-wrote and stars in alongside Fala Chen, who plays his wife, and Terrance Lau, a psychiatrist. Cheung’s character is named Choi Sun-Keung — a taxi driver who suffers from insomnia due to his chronic nightmares, which we learn is triggered by his own demons and wrongdoings from his past life as a wealth advisor/portfolio manager. 

Cheung performed the film's theme song, poetically titled, “I Can Never Fall Asleep（永遠的失眠）,” composed by long-time industry giant Mark Lui, which received a lot of praise by audiences who commented on Cheung’s dedication to storytelling and craft. The cinematography, art direction and visuals of the film are as riveting as they are stunning. I had to immediately turn down the volume upon the opening scene, after jumping up and catching my breath. The intensity never dips though: the constant sequence of nightmares and nightmarish realities keep the momentum to the very end. Throughout the film, it is evident that each scene has been crafted with great care, delivering a level of shock and supernatural eerieness that is simultaneously a breathtaking visual experience at every turn. The mystery and feeling of being disturbed in our own nightmares is carried out brilliantly on screen by both the aesthetic treatment and the brilliant acting by the three leads, Cheung, Chen, and Lau and Julius Siswojo who plays Cheung’s childhood friend whom he betrayed in the film. The storyline is tight and once more is revealed, is easy enough to understand for the audience and is relatable in themes that have troubled society including issues of mental health, financial crisis, greed, compassion, challenges of the system. The relevance offers some reprieve from all the other oddities and horror that the mind has to balance while following the film…including the flies that constantly buzz on screen and are haunting the character on screen. 

Cheung explains that in his own life, dreams have a way to keep him grounded and humble. “They remind me of the stress and anxiety I’m bearing; they take me on adventures that I cannot experience in real life. In a way, ‘dreams’ are my friends.” And in that line of thinking, his relationship with his dreams has benefitted his creative mind to make breakthroughs in film-making and storytelling. He shares that Peg O’ My Heart “is about two tragedies that are inspired by my personal dreams. It reflects my belief on life's interplay of karma and misfortune through thriller and mystery. I hope that this film serves as a cautionary message! As you watch, what thoughts will be stirred in your mind?” This is a thriller that audiences won’t want to miss, and if you make it into that theatre seat, you will find a hauntingly beautiful creation, inspired by dreams, by someone who continues to dare to dream.

“This is a thriller that audiences won’t want to miss, and if you make it into that theatre seat, you will find a hauntingly beautiful creation, inspired by dreams, by someone who continues to dare to dream.”

— Deborah Lau-Yu

Creating films in 2025 comes with a unique set of challenges, which we touched upon in our recent interview with Cheung. We discussed the content, casting choices and storyline in depth, and we also had a chance to discuss the creative marketing strategies that this film crew employed to attract people to take note, which led to the state of film-making locally in Hong Kong and globally. He expressed that while there is no shortage of storytelling, creativity, imagination and talent in the actual process of film-making, the toughest challenge is finding investors to support films. That uphill climb to fund any creative project of quality is not new to a world inundated with instant gratification and short attention spans. We live in a highly saturated digital space overflowing with content of all kinds, and it indirectly and directly competes with all types of content creation, inclusive of films for the big screen. Factors that contribute to the decline in interest or investment in films may be diverse, but the goal remains clear: films have the ability to inspire people through powerful storytelling, to make us feel deeply, find commonalities, and to bring to light many untold narratives and layers of societal issues that are important to think about. It all begins with understanding the value that film brings to our cultural landscape and identity.

Despite all odds and swimming against the cultural and economic current, Cheung’s continued quest as a director and creator parallels the underlying message in his film. Wrapped around the concept of dreams and what they mean at the deepest level, both his character in the film and as the director and artist he is in real life, he shares, “may you live a life with no regrets.” 

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Watch The Full Interview

Interviewer: Deborah Lau-Yu
This interview is conducted in Cantonese.

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Peg O’ My Heart Official Trailer

In Cantonese, with English and Chinese Subtitles

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Now in Canadian Cinemas

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