movie
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
directed by
Wayne Wang
Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong–American director, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese-American filmmakers to gain a major foothold in Hollywood ...
and starring
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
,
Gong Li
Gong Li ( Chinese: 巩俐; born 31 December 1965) is a Chinese actress. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Gong was born in Shenyang, Liaonin ...
Michael Hui
Michael Hui Koon-man (born ; 3 September 1942) (also known as Mr Boo!) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, scriptwriter and director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers (together with Ricky, Sam, and Stanley) who were prominent figures ...
.
The movie is set and was made at the time of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
's
handover
In cellular telecommunications, handover, or handoff, is the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel. In satellite communications it is the process of transfe ...
to the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
on June 30, 1997. The film credits Paul Theroux as a source for the story, based on themes he explores in his 1997 novel ''
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. It ...
''.
Plot
The movie unfolds at least nine different stories on very different levels.
First, there is John as a reporter, trying to capture interesting scenes on the streets of Hong Kong, persuading himself his work gives his life a tangible meaning.
Second, there is Vivian who is looking to find a balance in life, trying to escape from the underground she once was a part of and forget about her past, but is hindered in her attempts by prejudices that go back thousands of years in the Chinese society (including Hong Kong).
Third, there is Vivian (still), with a chance to discard most of her problems by simply marrying John and moving to England with him. Even though she is tempted to do so, she knows this would just be running away from the core of the problem and could not be a long-term solution, mostly because of their different cultural backgrounds and maybe even because of a subtle uncertainty regarding John's ex-wife and former life.
Fourth, there is Jean, with her own story and with a typical Hong Kong here-today-who-knows-where-tomorrow attitude - living the moment, enjoying and suffering at the same time, embodying a perfect reflection of modern life, especially so easily seen in Hong Kong in the late 1990s. She understands all of the different kinds of hardships that come in life and, with her face somewhat disfigured, is marked more intensely than most, but also knows where to draw the line in selling herself. John tries to help her, but does that in a dishonest way, which disappoints her tremendously. According to a note in film's credits, Jean's story was inspired by a short story by the American-British author
Rachel Ingalls
Rachel Holmes Ingalls (13 May 1940 – 6 March 2019) was an American-born author who had lived in the United Kingdom from 1965 onwards.Calendarlive.com /ref>
Fifth, there are John and Jim. Close, mutually understanding, with enough humor and sarcasm to keep them going through both the good and the bad days. Even though their outlooks towards life differ significantly, their love for the job (journalism) creates a strong bond of true friendship.
Sixth, there is Chang, a man of power, of high position, but a wimp in his heart. His immense wealth cannot replace what he lacks in personality. He has no charisma, no morality, no care, and exists purely on his imaginary throne of pretentiousness and status. While he is ashamed of Vivian, he does love her, but in a pathetic, cowardly way. He is very much into 'saving face' and can not find an equilibrium in his life (professional nor personal). He agrees to marry Vivian, but deceives her by arranging merely a mock wedding photo session, so she could have some pictures to send to her family. Vivian burns all of the photos and accepts the notion she will never be happy nor free.
Seventh, there are John and Vivian. A story of true love that just isn't meant to be. Not because they wouldn't want it to, but because of the constraints of the societies they live in.
Eighth, there is John (again), perplexed with his own mortality, which he is suddenly forced to face.
Ninth, there is the political aspect of Hong Kong politically becoming a part of China again, which (at the time) was a great uncertainty.
Filming locations
The movie shows the actual temporary press room specially which was set up for the press coverage of the handover, and located in the old part of the Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Certain scenes were shot at the Main Bar of the Foreign Correspondents' Club.F.C.C Facilities - Main Bar
The main characters residence in the film was shot in a flat located along
Central–Mid-Levels escalator
The Central–Mid-Levels escalator and walkway system in Hong Kong is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The system covers over in distance and traverses an elevation of over from bottom to top. It opened in 1993 to p ...
s, just below
Hollywood Road
Hollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street runs between Central and Sheung Wan, with Wyndham Street, Arbuthnot Road, Ladder Street, Upper Lascar Row, and Old Bailey Street in the vicini ...
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
- John Spencer
*
Gong Li
Gong Li ( Chinese: 巩俐; born 31 December 1965) is a Chinese actress. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Gong was born in Shenyang, Liaonin ...
Michael Hui
Michael Hui Koon-man (born ; 3 September 1942) (also known as Mr Boo!) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, scriptwriter and director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers (together with Ricky, Sam, and Stanley) who were prominent figures ...
- Chang
*
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...
- Jim
*
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...
- William
* Chaplin Chang - Homeless Man
* Noel Rands - John's Friend at New Year's Party
* Emma Lucia - Amanda Everheart
* Ken Bennett - Rick
* Russell Cawthorne - New Year's Party MC
* Emotion Cheung - William Wong
* Harvey Stockwin - Weeks
* Jonathan Midgley - Jonathan
* Bruce Walker - Bruce
* Angelica Lofgren - Baby-Lin
* Dr. Julian Chang - Dr. Chang
* Jian Rui Chao - Businessman #1
* Wai Sing Chau - Businessman #2
* Hung Lo - Businessman #3
* Shirley Hung - Girlfriend #1
* Michelle Yeung - Girlfriend #2
* Alex Ng - Drunk karaoke singer
* Chiu Wah Lee - Minibus passenger
*
Maria Cordero
Maria Cordero, MH (), nicknamed Fat Mama (), is a singer, actress, TV Host and DJ from Hong Kong. She grew up in Hong Kong. She also has her own cooking show, Maria's Kitchen (肥媽私房菜) on Cable TV. Her fans nicknamed her "Fat Mama" (肥 ...
- Mamasan
* Pao Fong - Godfather
* Hui Fan - Godfather's wife
* Lam Man Cheung - Wedding photographer
* Lee Siu-kei - Gangster #1
* Leung Chi On - Gangster #2
* Tse Yuen Fat - Gangster #3
* Roderick Lee - Manhattan Club bouncer
* Hui Li - Black Moon hostess
* Maria St. Lynne - Black Moon hostess
*
Josie Ho
Josephine "Josie" Ho Chiu-yi (; born 26 December 1974) is a singer and actress from Hong Kong. She is the daughter of the Macao casino magnate Stanley Ho.
Acting career
She has played many roles, including portraying the parts of prostitutes, whic ...
- Lilly
See also
*
List of films set in Hong Kong
While most of local Hong Kong movies were filmed locally, several foreign movies were also, at least partly, set in Hong Kong. The following is a list of foreign movies set in Hong Kong.
Foreign movies
*''Godzilla vs. Kong'' (2021)
*''Hello, Love, ...
* ''
M. Butterfly
''M. Butterfly'' is a play by David Henry Hwang. The story, while entwined with that of the opera ''Madama Butterfly'', is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer. T ...