Hong Kong Cinema

QUESTION 1

For many cinema lovers, Chinese cinema is mostly pure action and exaggerated martial arts. The action movies have, for a long time, been the signature identity for movies form this section of the world, and many people believe this is all there is to get from Chinese films. However, this perception is misguided. A careful examination and study of the Hong Kong cinema reveals a rich collection of films that deal with all themes in human life. Actually, there is little difference between the themes handled by Hollywood films and the Chinese cinema. Characters in many of these films carry emotional attachments to the dreams that they hold. As time passes, modern films have characters that have a Hong Kong dream, a California dream, or a New York dream. Films such as An Autumn’s Tale (1987), Full Moon in New York (1989), and A Simple Life (2012) showcase the expanding range of messages in Chinese film and indicate the growth of the industry in the country.

In An Autumn’s Tale, the storyline is mainly centered on love and romance, with the characters displaying deep emotional attachments to each other. Furthermore, the setting shifts from China to New York City, signaling the intention of Chinese filmmakers to transcend from purely traditional local themes and messages to ore acceptable, integrative, and global ones.

From early in the story, it is clear to the reader that the story will be global in approach when Jennifer Lee travels to New York to study with her boyfriend, Vincent. The styles used to make the drama connect to the audience include the use of suspense and the choice of names, which shows that the characters, who are representatives of the actual citizens of China, are global citizens who want to explore the world and deal with broad human conflicts. Secondly, there are many transformations to the personality and lifestyle of the characters as the storyline unfolds. When Jennifer arrives in America, she is confronted with a culture shock that makes her discover that there is a difference between China and New York. She is told by her relative, Pang, that some areas are too dangerous for her to venture alone. The viewer feels the changes that Jennifer has to struggle with and realizes that the movie is not the action and martial arts version, but a drama that requires careful following.

However, it is the emotional aspects of romance, struggles to live, gangs, and young adulthood that capture the audience’s attention. Jennifer is disappointed to find Vincent is seeing somebody else, and the emotional drain on her is too much. The audience empathizes with her, especially when it is remembered that she traveled in order to be with Vincent. Slowly, Jennifer struggles to create a new identity for herself. She is trying to get over the disappointment and struggles to become an independent woman in a new country. She gets a job to pay her rent and wants a second one to pay for her tuition. Whenever she encounters Vincent and Peggy, his new girlfriend, she walks away, not intending to fight for him. Eventually, she graduates. The same struggles are witnessed through Pang, her relative who tries hard to help her fit in the new environment. Pang is struggling to find a stable source of income and a job. As the film ends, he has managed to set up his restaurant, a dream come true for him. Also, in the end, Jennifer seems to have reunited with Vincent, who has broken up with Peggy. Jennifer demonstrates a strong ability to cherish old relationships while building new ones, and a fantastic ability to fit into a new society.

Similarly, in the film Full Moon in New York by Stanley Kwan (1989), the setting, as the title suggests, is New York, although the leading players are of Chinese and Taiwanese origin. Again, this film demonstrates a new dawn in the Chinese film industry, with the subject matter mainly concentrating on the struggles of immigrant Chinese women in America. There is a pleasant showcase of how successful these women get in New York, with Chang demonstrating competitive success in acting, Cheung a successful property magnate, and Gaowa, a struggling Chinese bride who tries hard to cope with a new lie. Also, there are struggles with emotional and romantic attachments, including issues previously considered taboo subjects in China, such as lesbianism. Clearly, this film is shot with a high degree of competence, and the styles are superior in quality, with the use of closely shot scenes and different lighting shades helping in the emotional attachment of the audience. Through this film, Kwan wants to challenge the stereotypes that have always existed about Chinese women in America. He wants to demonstrate that they can be successful and competent and that their origin and race are not a disadvantage. Similarly, he wants to break the barriers that have always existed about the messages in Chinese art in general and film making in particular. By dealing with the sensitive topic of lesbianism, Kwan wants to show that the current Chinese film industry is willing to explore any topic and will not agree to full censorship.

Finally, in the film, A Simple Life by Anne Hui (2012) deals with the aspect of family life, pain, and the attachment of human beings to one another. Roger Leung lives with Chung Chun-to, a maid servant who has always been in the family’s service for a long time. When she suffers a stroke, he finds her a nursing home, which helps her live her final days in the company of other people. The viewer immediately connects to the storyline and the subject matter, the emotional transformation of a human being from a strong, active, healthy being to a helpless individual who must depend on others, or even to professional organizations like nursing homes, for help to do the most fundamental duties. For the case of Chung, it is clear that her most reliable companions, who become her family, are not her blood relatives but a family that she lived with as a house servant when they were young. She gave dedicated duty, and in turn, they are there with her in old age. The message that the viewer immediately gets is that the relationships one builds in early life will be of great help in the old age. Even in the absence of blood relations, one can still be a meaningful individual. Chung is a clear illustration of how life changes, and people build and retain relationships, and there is admirable appreciation in the way Roger and his siblings return the favor. They are there for Chung in her old age, and they are the ones who make major decisions for her, including on when to allow her to die. Finally, the aspect of a man from the nursing home appearing at Chung’s burial with flowers alludes to the possibility of her having found love in old age. The message in this scene is that one is never too old to make new relationships, as long as he/she lives right and treasures fellow humans.

From the three films, it is clear that the Chinese film industry has evolved from the action and martial arts, and it is now a rich collection of humanistic themes and subject matters with much emotional attachment to the audience. There is a close resemblance between these Chinese films and the themes that Hollywood films deal with. This is a major transformation from the days when the Chinese film industry mainly concentrated on action films and martial arts. Various factors may be responsible for this transformation, but the increased interaction between the Chinese citizens and the rest of the world, brought about by the globalization aspects, may be partly responsible for the transformation. There was a need for Chinese films to show more globally acceptable content for them to attract viewers from across the world. Su adds that the Chinese business, international relations, and general government operations have been changing to fit into the international community, unlike in the past when the country practiced isolationist policies that included strict government supervision of all aspects of art and media (6). Watching the movie confirms that Chinese films have evolved and now are more globally acceptable. The styles and the subject matter of the films make it clear that the filmmakers no longer only concentrate on martial arts and action.

 

 

QUESTION 2

The films that I prefer are the ones discussed in question 1 above, including An Autumn’s Tale by Mabel Chung (1987), Full Moon in New York by Stanley Kwan (1989), and A Simple Life by Anne Hui. Others that impressed me include Comrades, Almost a Lover Story by Peter Chan, (1997), and Flirting Scholar by Stephen Chow (1993). These films made an impact on me due to the emotional attachment that they make with the audience. There is an impressive use of lighting and color themes that complement the message, setting the mood for the viewer to follow the story easily. The themes are mainly love and romance, human relationships, and the emotional attachment between human beings. They also deal with the daily struggles of individuals to earn a living, the deception of man, betrayal by loved ones, and in a few of the films, death. These aspects are easy to connect with, and the characters easily represent people the viewer can identify with, or in some instances, the viewers can single out issues that they are struggling with their lives and his families. The subject matter of these films is relevant regardless of the audience, and will easily fit into an international market because every human being experiences these aspects. This means the producers have selected global themes, and this explains why these films have found acceptance beyond China.

I had reservations about Shaolin Soccer by Stephen Chow (2001), Kungfu Soccer by Stephen Chow (2005), and The Mermaid by Stephen Chow (2016). While they are great works with major artistic feats, they attempt to recreate the hero, the superhuman forms who can accomplish major feats and who are better than all others around them. The aspects of the ideal characters make them a little too removed from the audience, and this makes it difficult for the viewer to identify with them. However, all the films that were taught in this class have something to teach the viewer, although the degree of likeability and the depth of appreciation vary from one film to another.

 

Works Cited

Su, Wendy. China’s Encounter with Global Hollywood: Cultural Policy and the Film

Industry, 1994 – 2013. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2016.