Hong Kong cinema experienced yet another challenging year in 2017. Those simply keeping an eye on the figures in the headlines could easily pick up signs of the industry’s difficulties, while the city’s die-hard film buffs saw weeks slip by without any strong local attractions. But a closer look could also reveal a film business that’s still managing to find new talent and retain a diversity of cinematic choices.
Hong Kong’s overall box-office takings slipped for the second year running in 2017, falling 4.8 per cent to HK$1.85 billion (US$237 million). The performance of Hong Kong productions in the year-end tally was worse. Local films, including Hong Kong-mainland China co-productions, held just a 13 per cent market share – down five percentage points from the previous year’s figure – while the number of home-grown productions slid from 61 in 2016 to just 53. Unusually, not one Hong Kong film made it into the overall box-office top 10, which was made up entirely of US productions, led by the animation Beauty and the Beast. In 2016, two Hong Kong films made the list, including the local thriller Cold War 2, which came in third.
Top among hometown crowd-pleasers was Pang Ho-cheung’s romantic comedy Love Off the Cuff, which took HK$30 million (US$3.87 million), or less than half of Cold War 2’s takings. Hongkongers warmed to the decidedly local affair centred on a couple of lovebirds whose ups and downs were earlier chronicled in 2010’s Love in a Puff and its 2012 sequel. Some other films nabbing local top 10 status could hardly be called hits, however: as in 2016, movies could scrape into the local-film top 10 with takings of just HK$10 million (US$1.28 million) or less. Sitting in 10th place last year was Wilson Yip’s Thailand-set action flick Paradox, having scored just HK$7.8 million (US$1 million) for its Hong Kong cinema run.
As in past years since a slump in film production hit Hong Kong in the mid-1990s, enthusiasm for local big-screen entertainment dissipated in the face of flashy imports. While the Lunar New Year holiday again drew crowds for traditional festive-season trips to Cantonese films, overseas offerings continued to be largely seen as providing more bang for the buck than local films, which are perceived as low-quality fare in comparison. Much of last year saw smaller Hong Kong films play without fanfare, with many releases hitting cinemas with little or no advertising, showing only in off-peak times, and reaching just a small number of screens. Film freaks must keep a close eye on schedules lest they miss anything these days, and others probably won’t even notice the release of many movies. Months can lapse between a film’s festival premiere and its full release, as producers wait to collect awards and festival laurels in the hope of drumming up interest at home.
With the small local market unable to support high-budget filmmaking on its own, co-production with mainland partners continues to drive Hong Kong cinema’s top end. In contrast to the Hong Kong doldrums, the mainland market experienced further growth in 2017, and the city’s filmmakers found strong results over the boundary. Take the Tsui Hark-directed and Stephen Chow-produced action fantasy Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back. Released at the 2017 Lunar New Year, the blockbuster leapt to the top of the charts in the mainland, breaking box-office records like the largest single-day gross.
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back saw Tsui indulge in his decades-long enthusiasm for crafting intensely creative effects-driven spectaculars – a style of filmmaking now made possible with major Chinese investment and returns in mind. To gain access to the nation’s 50,000-plus movie screens, co-production with mainland firms to bypass import quotas remains the main route for Hong Kong filmmakers. But reaching a wide audience isn’t straightforward, as co-productions need to meet certain criteria and pass mainland censorship before being screened anywhere.
Famously, censorship has thrown up a stack of no-nos – including superstition, immoral behaviour, and letting wrongdoers go unpunished – for filmmakers to contend with. While some simply avoid touchy topics or genres, others deploy workarounds. Modern-day ‘ghost’ scenes can have distinctly non-supernatural backgrounds, for instance, while a crime story may be set in the ‘bad old days’ of Hong Kong’s colonial period. Some of these devices are smooth and successful, but others seem like clumsy pandering.
Complicating matters is the question of tastes, with Hong Kong and mainland audiences divergent on what they want to see. The mainland record-setting actioner Wolf Warrior II was a modest success in Hong Kong last year, perhaps aided by sheer curiosity over it becoming the all-time China box-office champ. But it was an outlier in a market where mainland productions can slip through cinemas largely unnoticed. Similarly, some of the biggest hits with Hong Kong talent in the mainland, like Stanley Tong’s comic actioner Kung Fu Yoga with Jackie Chan, found cool reception in Hong Kong.
Still, the greater resources afforded to co-productions allowed for some of the better cinema experiences in 2017, with several high-end works easily appealing to audiences in both Hong Kong and the Mainland. Along with Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, which was the top film in Hong Kong at the Lunar New Year, other standouts came from Ann Hui and Herman Yau. Hui’s wartime saga Our Time Will Come was a major highlight, a carefully plotted drama set amid the resistance to the world war two Japanese occupation of the city. Hui’s re-creation of a past Hong Kong was stellar, ranging from intimate community sets through to military flare-ups, and aided by a strong cast and scenes linking to the present-day city. Come nomination time for the Hong Kong film Awards this year, the film outclassed the field with nods in 11 categories.
Another big attraction was Herman Yau’s Shock Wave, a modern-day thriller focussing on the city’s bomb disposal unit, and a grand plot to deploy explosives in key infrastructure. The human drama and escalating tension was intriguing, and Hongkongers were enjoyed some bonus nuggets of obscure local detail.
More high crime turned up in Chasing the Dragon, based on the exploits of a notorious gangster and a corrupt cop in 1960s and 1070s Hong Kong. The Wong Jing and Jason Kwan-directed saga turned in amusing period entertainment, though the heavy-handed portrayal of colonial-era lawlessness could be jarring. Those curious for more gangland scenes from a past era could look to another true-crime saga, the less flashy Dealer/Healer, from helmer Lawrence Lau. Fans of action could meanwhile get their fix with Wilson Yip’s abduction thriller Paradox, the third in a line of films that began with 2005’s SPL. And The Brink, from first-time director Jonathan Li, came with absurd stylised action as an insanely determined cop tries to crush a gold smuggling ring.
After Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back at Lunar New Year, more expensive effects-driven work came in with Derek Kwok’s Wu Kong. Based on an online novel that itself drew on the Monkey King of the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West, Kwok’s intensely CGI-heavy picture saw a youthful hero facing an oppressive regime, suggesting political allegory amid the sensory overload. Gordon Chan, meanwhile, turned in the period epic God of War, which focused on strategy as a nimble Chinese army tackles Japanese pirates. Though the film boasted fine writing and performances, the muted box-office response reflected the fall of the once-popular period epic genre.
Late in 2017 Tsui Hark took on writer-producer duties for Yuen Woo-ping’s The Thousand Faces of Dunjia. Opening with delightful scenes of demon busting, the film about a clan’s struggle for survival spiralled into a mix of effects-driven spectacle and some effective snippets of human drama. Also expensive, but sadly falling flat, was Benny Chan’s family flick Meow. The sci-fi flop about an alien cat joining a messed-up family was weighed down with infantile humour and a slipshod script.
Other major Hong Kong-mainland co-productions in 2017 included This Is Not What I Expected. The film, from editor and first-time director Derek Hui, offered slick and delightful romantic comedy as a talented chef and a hotel baron meet-cute in Shanghai. With Manhunt, veteran helmer John Woo made a return to the heroic gunplay cinema he made his name with internationally. Staging the action this time in Japan, Woo’s film delivered plenty of firefights, but also inadvertently amused with the scripts many ridiculous quirks.
Noted cinematographer Jason Kwan made his directing debut with the bizarre Hawaii-set love story A Nail Clipper Romance, adapting a short story by producer Pang Ho-cheung. Actress Sandra Ng gave light horror comedy a shot for her directing debut in Goldbuster, channelling scenes of spooky business through a fiendish plot to oust mainland residents from their homes. Actor-director Stephen Fung tried his hand at flashy and light-hearted heist cinema in the Europe-set The Adventurers with mixed results, and singer Leon Lai’s second directing effort Wine War was a supremely weird France-set caper rolling together scenes of the high life, family intrigue and wild bursts of action.
While several key filmmakers, including Tsui Hark, Ann Hui and Herman Yau, are capably straddling markets with mega-productions that can appeal to Hongkongers and those in the Mainland, makers of smaller films – some of them also co-productions – are clearly more focused on hometown audiences. For those who’ve feared that co-production could dilute local characteristics in terms of theme, culture and language on-screen, as well as for those looking to see material that couldn’t possibly pass mainland censorship, these films can be welcome attractions. But the lines can be blurred at times. Pang Ho-cheung’s mid-budget Love Off the Cuff was a mainland co-production with two northern characters, but it was peppered with local slang gags and cultural references. In some cases, producers also have an eye on neighbouring Guangdong province, a major mainland market where some Hong Kong films gain a simultaneous Cantonese release.
Among Hong Kong’s smaller pictures in 2017, a major highlight was first-time director Wong Chun’s mental illness drama Mad World, which arrived in cinemas with a raft of awards and festival accolades to its credit. The low-budget and well-received film typified the more localist style of a new set of Hong Kong filmmakers, often concerned with capturing social issues and urban minutiae in their big-screen outings.
For his second work as director, Chapman To delivered The Empty Hands, a compelling karate-themed drama that built into action while also offering gentle touches of nostalgia. Kearen Pang’s 29+1, based on the first-time film director’s earlier theatre work of the same title, was a classy tale of a career woman getting to know and be influenced by a cheery and carefree young lady of the same age. The film appealed strongly to fans of Pang’s one-woman stage production as well those simply seeking high-quality screen drama.
In Chiu Sin-hang and Yan Pak-wing’s directing debut Vampire Cleanup Department, the filmmakers thumbed their noses at a mainland release to deliver fun vintage-style horror comedy, heavily laden with nostalgic set design and local cinematic references for added appeal. More spooky business turned up in the low-end Ghost Net, also directed by new film directors and featuring three cheap shorts of pretty young things having supernatural run-ins. And Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight, Alan Lo’s directing debut, offered a messy mishmash of comedy, satire and zombie horror mayhem.
With Prisoners, directed by first-timer Andrew Wong, drew on a true story and looked to highlight failings in the local correctional system with its tale of a young triad jailed and mistreated. Two more new directors, Stephen Ng and Nero Ng, attempted social satire in The Sinking City: Capsule Odyssey. Based on an online novel, the haphazard feature chronicled the bizarre exploits of residents of a subdivided flat, culminating in crime thriller scenes. Screen veteran Lawrence Cheng’s The Yuppie Fantasia 3 took a popular 1989-1990 series and took it to a new generation of viewers with attractive romantic comedy. The prolific Herman Yau meanwhile offered a trio of small films of note. Yau’s charming 77 Heartbreaks was an odd relationship tale with local comic touches, the ghost-themed Always Be with You revived his classic Troublesome Night series of the late 1990s, and the horror flick The Sleep Curse built off nasty goings-on during Japan’s occupation of Hong Kong.
With smaller productions like these acting as testing grounds for emerging directors, Hong Kong cinema is showing strength in developing new behind-the-scenes talent. Works by new filmmakers are finding support from mainstream producers, as well as formal schemes. The city’s Fresh Wave initiative, which funds young aspirants to make shorts for an annual competition, remains a key conduit for new talent to gain experience and exposure. The government’s First Feature Film Initiative has proved remarkably successful so far. Established in 2013 to fully fund feature directing debuts picked via a script competition, the programme has so far delivered four accomplished works, including Mad World.
Less impressive has been growth in acting talent. Hong Kong cinema’s major productions are still largely drawing on a pool of top-tier players established a decade or more ago, including actors Andy Lau, Louis Koo, Lau Ching-wan, Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ronald Cheng and Shawn Yue. To find see more new-generation stars in leading roles, one must often look to smaller works with the likes of Michael Ning and Babyjohn Choi. On the actress’s side, Miriam Yeung and Sandra Ng remained notable Hong Kong stars with large films, but top female roles in co-productions mostly go to mainland talent rather than Hongkongers.
Smaller films have been addressing that imbalance, however, with Stephy Tang especially standing out for a string of quality performances over the past year, and other young actresses like Chrissie Chau, Joyce Cheng and Cecilia So gaining prominence alongside veterans like Teresa Mo and Kara Wai. Nonetheless, when the Hong Kong Film Awards nominations earlier this year stooped to including an ultra-brief cameo by a swimmer in the best new actor nominations, it reflected the need to bring up more acting talent.
The run of promising directing debuts continued with early 2018 cinema releases. Former Fresh Waver Tam Wai-ching delivered In Your Dreams, a polished drama involving a troubled student and his substitute teacher. Screenwriter and Fresh Wave alumnus Chan Tai-lee offered Tomorrow Is Another Day, focussed on a mother looking after a son with autism and a mental disability. Acclaimed documentary maker Cheung King-wai made a strong feature debut with the murder story Somewhere Beyond the Mist, featuring a striking performance by newcomer Rachel Leung.
The Lunar New Year holidays in February brought a diverse range of bigger pictures, including Soi Cheang’s high-quality fantasy epic The Monkey King 3, first-time director Jeff Cheung’s spy-flick and pop-culture parody Agent Mr Chan and Raman Hui’s animation and live-action hybrid Monster Hunt 2. Dante Lam offered the most bombastic cinema experience with Operation Red Sea, an often brutal account of Chinese navy commandos pulling compatriots to safety in Africa, and squelching terrorist plans for dirty bombs on the side. As Lam’s picture rose to take top place in the mainland box-office chart, and with smaller works with new talent still impressing at home, Hong Kong cinema once more showed resilience as it tried to make its way past challenges.
Tim Youngs