Name: Retro Film Review: Chinese Box (1997)
Item: Chinese Box
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

In today's world film makers tend not to deal with important political and economic events as they happen. This is partly because those events usually catch film makers by surprise and by the time production starts the events cease to be that relevant. There are very few occasions when events of such nature allow film makers to prepare in advance. One of such golden opportunities was British handover of Hong Kong to China, which is the subject of Chinese Box, 1997 drama directed by Wayne Wang.

The film starts in Hong Kong on New Years Eve of 1997. While most people celebrate, some of Hong Kong citizens are so anxious over the upcoming handover to Communists that they express their feelings by public suicide. John (played by Jeremy Irons), business reporter and British expatriate, is troubled by more prosaic things – his unrequited love towards Vivian (played by Gong Li), beautiful Chinese bar hostess and former prostitute. Vivian is supported by Chang (played by Michael Hui), her old and rich lover. As the handover approaches, John spends time wandering through the streets of Hong Kong and meets Jean (played by Maggie Cheung), street vendor with the scarred face and tragic past. While Vivian slowly realises that her boyfriend would never marry a former prostitute, John receives some really bad news – he suffers from rare form of leukaemia and has only months to live. John starts wondering whether he should be able to see the handover and whether he should confess his love to Vivian.

Wayne Wang, Hollywood veteran born in Hong Kong, has returned to his home town to make a film about one of the most important events of its history. In Smoke Wang showed how well he could bring the spirit of certain place on screen and how even seemingly banal characters and situations can provide powerful drama. In case of Chinese Box importance of the occasion and director's lack of objectivity proved to be counterproductive for film. The script by Larry Gross and Jean-Claude Carriere meanders between attempts to show what the handover would actually mean for people of Hong Kong, Oriental version of Death in Venice and cheap melodrama. Wang's talent with actors is of little help, because the main characters are less human beings and more a symbols in political drama - John is vanishing British Empire, Vivian is People's Republic of China while Jean is supposed to symbolise Hong Kong's vitality. This heavy symbolism sucks the drama out of Chinese Box and the flat performance by Jeremy Irons doesn't help either. Stunning Chinese diva Gong Li and Hong Kong action star Maggie Cheung are more than impressive in their roles, but their efforts can't make this film anything more than merely watchable. The music by Graeme Revell is often irritating and by the time handover happens, the audience would be glad it is all over. Chinese Box is good example how combination good talents, good intentions and golden opportunities don't always end in good films. RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on May 17th 2004)