After years of decline, the Hong Kong industry managed to slightly arrest the ongoing slump in 2006. The industry defied pessimistic expectations and worked to secure a better footing in a changing market. 51 local features reached cinemas in 2006, down slightly from 55 the year before. But box office figures for Hong Kong films were almost unchanged, as the year produced enough major draws to offset its quieter periods.
But the film industry is still faces difficulties, and these difficulties are not limited to local films. 2006 showed a small drop in takings for imported foreign movies, too. Problems afflicting Hong Kong cinema remained the largely same as those of the past few years: piracy, competition from imports and audience indifference when faced with low-quality movies. A lack of strong choices at some key periods surely didn’t help either - July saw just two local films hit cinemas in a remarkably poor turnout for the summer period. Adding to difficulties was a financial crunch for exhibitors as a resurgent economy brought a boost to landlords but saddled some cinema operators with rising rents or evictions. Even though the city saw its first ever drive-in theatre open in December, several existing multiplexes were downsized in the preceding months. Some smaller movie houses closed altogether.
Co-productions with mainland Chinese partners remained a major force in the year’s lineup. These were aided by the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement signed in late 2003. Co-productions covered everything except horror (which is not allowed by mainland Chinese censors), and ranged from lavish costume epics to down-to-earth local affairs. Hong Kong filmmakers also found production partners in Japan and Korea for films like Dog Bite Dog, A Battle Of Wits and Confession Of Pain. In an effort to increase Hong Kong’s regional standing as a film producer, local bodies are boosting international events in the city. Hong Kong is positioning itself as a hub for filmmakers each March with the Entertainment Expo, which combines events like the Hong Kong Film and Television Market, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum and the Hong Kong International Film Festival. 2007’s event saw the debut of the Asian Film Awards, a high-profile celebration of East Asian cinema.
Ronny Yu hit early with Fearless, the Jet Li-led Chinese New Year martial arts spectacular. It was the highest grossing local film of 2006. Other blockbusters played catch-up for the remainder of the year. Benny Chan’s action-comedy Rob-B-Hood, which featured Jackie Chan, did well on its release during the increasingly lucrative Chinese National Day holidays after summer. Teaming Chan with Louis Koo and veteran comedian Michael Hui as thieves who kidnap a millionaire’s baby, some high-concept hijinks were order of the day. Among the standout scenes was a theme-park chase, which provided the type of escapist thrills Hong Kong cinema does best.
The next major Hong Kong draw came at Christmas, when directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak teamed up for Confession of Pain, a star-studded thriller. Aiming for the heights the pair reached with their Infernal Affairs trilogy, Confession of Pain featured top actors like Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Kaneshiro Takeshi in a glossy tale of vengeance and private investigation.
Period epics remain a key focus of Hong Kong-China co-productions. A Battle Of Wits, Curse Of The Golden Flower and The Banquet were among the year’s top-budget offerings released after Fearless. Jacob Cheung took the reins for A Battle Of Wits, building a game of strategy in which a far-flung city held out against attackers. With Andy Lau in the lead, and a cast from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and South Korea, the film made a pleasant change from the extravagance that typifies the genre today. While Cheung kept his palette to earthen hues, Zhang Yimou’s Curse Of The Golden Flower took the Technicolor route. Starring Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li and Jay Chou, the tale of imperial palace secrets played out on a grand scale. The Banquet saw another top mainland Chinese director, Feng Xiaogang, at the helm. Based around Hamlet and starring Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun and Daniel Wu, Feng’s film looked every bit the stunner, but failed to appeal to Hong Kong audiences or those across the border.
Hong Kong-China co-productions continued to boost Hong Kong’s depressed industry. But the issue of making films which cater to separate local and mainland audience tastes - as well as different censorship concerns - remains an issue. Fortunately for Hong Kong cinephiles keen on edgier work, more filmmakers in 2006 chose to step around compromises needed for a mainland Chinese cinema release. Johnnie To, for one, forged ahead with his acclaimed Election series and saw his long-gestating Exiled released. Election 2 chronicled gangland drama and touched on Hong Kong-China relations without shying away from contentious material. And To’s Exiled brought back players from 1999’s The Mission, this time on pre-handover Macau turf, where a band of gangsters team up for one last job and defend brotherhood. Richly stylised and evocative of classic westerns from Peckinpah to Leone, Exiled was a keen highlight in the year’s gunplay flicks.
In his On The Edge, Herman Yau delved into a tale of identity crisis and failings of the police system as he detailed an undercover cop’s return to the uniformed beat. With a terrific lead performance from Nick Cheung, Yau’s film was a choice supplement to recent years’ screen stories about moles. Soi Cheang’s adults-only Dog Bite Dog meanwhile was a savagely staged crime-and-pursuit actioner, with an antediluvian Cambodian hit man on the run from an equally brutal firebrand cop. A production wallowing in filth and ditching subtlety at every turn, Cheang’s border-hopping film forged a singular, bleak style for the city’s police capers.
After This Our Exile marked New Wave leading light Patrick Tam’s return to the director’s chair. Malaysia was the backdrop for his tragic family drama. Three versions of Tam’s film played out - a stronger warts-and-all director’s cut and a shortened version in Hong Kong, as well as a third edit for China. And earlier in the year, Pang Ho-cheung tastefully handled difficult material in his accomplished father-daughter drama Isabella (FEFF 2006), a story tinged with hints of incestuous liaisons.
Other commercial productions delivered more of 2006’s highlights. Lawrence Lau’s (a.k.a. Lawrence Ah Mon) My Name Is Fame was one of the year’s most uplifting features, covering the local movie biz while charting the rise of an acting newbie under the tutelage of a has-been actor. Equipped with an especially good performance by Lau Ching-wan, the film trumpeted the merits of perseverance through gloomy times. Dragon Tiger Gate continued the teaming of director Wilson Yip and actor/action choreographer Donnie Yen. Completely unlike their previous movie SPL, the summertime release was based on a long-running comic-book series and laced with outlandish, effects-driven martial arts set pieces.
James Yuen’s Heavenly Mission saw the gangster genre move in a new direction with a triad boss Ekin Cheng facing an uphill battle in going straight. The Mcdull franchise dived into a combo of live-action and animation in Mcdull: The Alumni. With Samson Chiu taking over the director’s role, the third Mcdull film was a celebrity-driven affair gaining decent commercial success. Also managing some of the year’s better audience draws were the brothers Oxide and Danny Pang. Their movie Re-Cycle built a nightmarish fantasyland around star Angelica Lee, pitching a not-so-subtle message to viewers and raising the bar for accomplishments in special effects.
The Pangs remain important in the weakening local horror scene. Oxide Pang also delivered Diary, a chamber curio about a girl’s torment. Wong Jing is keeping busy, too, having produced among other films the Marco Mak-directed Wo Hu. Picking up the theme of the troubled undercover cop unleashed in On The Edge, Wo Hu milked its topic for all it’s worth - to the tune of putting 1,000 police spies into a multifaceted plot that expanded on gangsters’ personal lives.
Despite the lower production numbers, 2006 yielded some promising works from new and up-and-coming directors. Focus Films’ and Star Chinese Movies’ First Cuts project in particular yielded a diverse slate of Asia-wide productions by young filmmakers. The China film in the series, Ning Hao’s Crazy Stone, became a hit across the border, while back in Hong Kong Lam Tze-chung’s relationship drama I’ll Call You (FEFF 2006) and Lee Kung-lok’s My Mother Is A Belly Dancer delivered vibrant flights of fancy. My Mother Is A Belly Dancer, Lee’s first solo outing in the helmer’s chair, was a colourful charmer about housing-estate housewives finding a release from the daily grind - an unexpected delight for the few cinemagoers that gave it their time.
Another accomplished debut came in Daniel Wu’s The Heavenly Kings. Starring his boy band Alive, Wu pitched a catchy concoction of documentary and mockumentary dotted with entertainment-biz minutiae. In other features Law Wing-cheong made a remarkable solo directing debut with breast-cancer comedy 2 Become 1 (FEFF 2006), and in early 2007 movie buffs were eagerly anticipating Eye In The Sky, scriptwriter Yau Nai-hoi’s first film as director.
The slate of high-profile productions kept Hong Kong’s leading men busy over the year. Jet Li starred in top-grosser Fearless, and his performance was billed as his last martial arts role. Chow Yun-fat took a commanding role for Curse Of The Golden Flower and Andy Lau brought in the crowds with A Battle Of Wits. Aaron Kwok pulled out all stops for an intense portrayal of a father in After This Our Exile. And Tony Leung Chui-wai and Kaneshiro Takeshi both drew in audiences for Confession Of Pain. Lau Ching-wan made an effortless-looking return to drama in My Name Is Fame, and Daniel Wu strengthened his standing as an all-rounder in The Banquet, his first big-budget period-costume film. Nick Cheung and Louis Koo continued to take on important film roles, and Ronald Cheng has remained a draw in mid-range comedies.
Local actresses are meanwhile seeing more plum roles go to top-grade counterparts from across the border, though 2006 had its share of standout appearances. Charlie Yeung was up to the task of the challenging material in After This Our Exile, Angelica Lee was terrific in Re-Cycle, Isabella Leong showed much promise in Isabella and Crystal Tin displayed star potential in My Mother Is A Belly Dancer. Teresa Mo also stood out in Longisland So’s disappointing name-only sequel Men Suddenly In Black 2, while Shu Qi took on a lightweight lead part in Confession Of Pain. Charlene Choi picked up a decent lead role in Diary while her partner in pop twosome Twins, Gillian Chung, lacked a strong film for the year. Miki Yeung kept up a regular screen presence in the likes of Dennis Law’s dark underground-fighting film Fatal Contact, but Fiona Sit’s star weakened in the Joe Ma-directed lacklustre comedy Love Undercover 3.
Talent from China continues to provide a host of strong performances in co-productions, albeit with their lines sometimes dubbed into Cantonese for Hong Kong audiences. Confession Of Pain benefited from an affecting performance by actress-director Xu Jinglei, while Huo Siyan made her way into Hong Kong cinema with My Name Is Fame. Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun and Ge You all starred in The Banquet, Gong Li vamped it up in Curse Of The Golden Flower and, come early 2007, Zhang Jingchu played a major role in Derek Yee’s drug-trade drama Protégé.
2007 opened with a lineup of films led in the quality stakes by Protégé. Loaded with top stars and detailing the narcotics business within a police-thriller framework, Yee’s film far outclassed the Chinese New Year competition. This consisted of directorial debuts by Ronald Cheng with It’s A Wonderful Life and Kong Tao-hoi with Twins Mission. In what was perhaps a reflection of the changing times and the need to test new formulas, the February festive season included non-traditional fare unlike the safer, violence-free and fortune-themed screen offerings of past years.
By March several top-tier productions were announced or in the works, giving movie buffs something to look forward to, and the government pledged US$38.5 million for an as-yet-undetermined use in aiding the film industry. With moviemakers now considering the best uses for the extra funds, they have another reason to assess how best to deal with Hong Kong cinema’s current situation - and chart further courses to help reverse its ongoing decline.
Tim Youngs