A fascinating grass-roots history of Hong Kong emerges around touching family drama in Samson Chiu's Mr Cinema, released as one of several movies to mark the 10th anniversary of the city's return to China. At its heart lies the decades-long story of Zhou Heung-kong (Anthony Wong), a movie projectionist who for years has barely made ends meet to support his wife (Teresa Mo) and son (Ronald Cheng).
Living in a rooftop shack, the family's longtime dire finances and almost outsider status in Hong Kong don't stem from dad's low-paying work; instead, it's his unflagging support for his fellow leftists and folks in mainland China. Steadfastly rooted in the city's patriotic camp, whether in joining the 1967 pro-communist riots or dreaming for years to visit Tiananmen Square, the old man has long offered his cash to causes he finds worthy. Yet as the decades roll by, Zhou's commitments in turn relegate his family to soldier on in society's margins as Hong Kong's great development rapidly unfolds around them.
Just as he did with Golden Chicken and its sequel, Samson Chiu once more shows his strength in charting the city's ups and downs through the nuanced stories of his protagonists' plights. And as his drama builds at a careful pace, the family's picture becomes one of Hong Kong cinema's most affecting in recent years. Exceptional performances from all three lead actors, plus fine turns from Karen Mok (as the son's longtime love interest) and John Sham (as a chummy Taiwan neighbor and ideological rival), lend warmth to the characters as they evolve over the years.
Period detail throughout Mr Cinema is lovingly recreated for the big screen, and adding a bonus air of authenticity to the storytelling is its pedigree: the movie hails from the Sil-Metropole Organisation, a production house formed in the merger of Hong Kong's great left-wing film companies. (Snippets from their catalogue of movies, including Mud Child, Romance On The Bus and The Enigmatic Case, appear every now and then.) With the personal stories within the city's patriotic community rarely touched upon in the silver screen today, the opportunity to look in through Chiu's picture is of added interest.
Though shown as idealists, the characters in Mr Cinema don't necessarily have their lives romanticised onscreen: the son is bullied as a schoolboy and his later forays into business with mainland partners and in Chinese backwaters are rocky at best. And while some key Hong Kong and China historical events are clearly downplayed, turns of fate are nonetheless open to interpretation and add further complexity to the epic melodrama. Only toward the end of Mr Cinema do the handover anniversary celebrations come to the fore, but ultimately Chiu's film succeeds with its small yet absorbing family tale within the greater Hong Kong story.
Tim Youngs