Cyclone review: Philip Yung’s transgender drama is bold, lyrical and utterly divisive

Sep 30, 2026

3.5/5 stars Philip Yung Tsz-kwong’s Cyclone is an alternately transgressive and lyrical drama charting the sexual escapades of a transgender woman fleeing her traumatic past. The film takes its name from the protagonist’s chosen alias – a literary allusion that may enlighten and confuse audiences in equal measure. It references Cyclone Mei, a fabled villainess from Louis Cha Leung-yung’s wuxia epic The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Forged by a tragic childhood into a ruthless killer, she is the...

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