Chinese Box (1998)

Set during the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong in 1997, this fascinating film uses that urgent and grandly ceremonial political backdrop for an intimate study of personal transition. Jeremy Irons plays a seasoned journalist who discovers he is terminally ill, causing him to be torn between his obsessive love for a former prostitute (Chinese film star Li Gong) and a streetwise hustler (Maggie Cheung) whom he has chosen as the subject of a video documentary. Through his involvement in the lives of these two very different women, director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) creates a cinematic "love-hate letter" to his native Hong Kong, where each character is allegorical and suffers an identity crisis much like Hong Kong itself. The film's love story is somewhat aimless and ultimately unimportant, but Chinese Box (even the title suggests a place that holds secrets within its borders) remains a fascinating film in the semi-documentary tradition, capturing the psychology of its time and place with compelling immediacy. Musician/actor/politician Ruben Blades is featured in a memorable supporting role. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

A moving portrait of a relationship and a moment in history

From the DVD cover: "Jeremy Irons stars as John, a British journalist living in Hong Kong. John has fallen in love with Vivian (Gong Li), a bartender with a jaded past. Vivian is eager to secure her position in Hong Kong society and wants her successful boyfriend Chang to marry her. When Chang proves to be indecisive about their relationship, Vivian turns to John. Giving into their feelings for a brief but passionate affair, they now face inevitable change and unexpected obstacles in this touching and compelling film."

Nothing else I have seen or read captures the poignant and slightly fevered atmosphere of Hong Kong in the months leading up to the 1997 handover. The relationship between John (Irons) and Vivian (Gong Li), and what we learn of Maggie Cheung's character's past relationship (?) with her schooldays English boyfriend, seem to mirror aspects of the political and cultural relationship between the British and Hong Kong Chinese. The ending is deeply moving.

This film is infinitely superior and almost entirely different in terms of plot, and indeed everything else, from Paul Theroux's disappointing novel, Kowloon Tong, that apparently inspired the makers of this film. July 14, 2008

Good, but, ...................

to say the least this movie can REALLY confuse viewers if they try to understand characters motives. The Hong Kong backdrop IS interesting and adds a unique flavor to the film. Having Jeremy Irons as the lead only adds class and professionalism to any film he appears in.

The reason for 3 stars: I can't remember the last film that had so many CONFUSED people in it. Irons portrays an ex - pat Brit who has a wife and kids back in England. They might be divorced. That point is not made clear. He has the hots for a Chinese woman who belongs to someone else. He finds out that he has a terminal disease leaving him only 3-6 months to live. If he seeks this eternal love of her or an LTR then why does he want to pursue this anyway? He knows he will be dead soon!! Kind of self centered if you ask me. The other supporting characters are just as mixed up in their own way if not more so.

I'm calling this film good and worth watching because it is different, but, because of the confused supporting cast I'm taking away 2 stars. June 1, 2008

.........LIFE IN HONG KONG 1996/1997..............

I loved this DVD...thanks to Jeremy Irons, the gorgeous/beautiful Gong Li and Maggie Cheung...people have to be cognizant that living in Asia is alot different than in USA...I can't get enough of both Chinese actresses...their natural beauty, in different light, I may add....Gong Li is a perfect physical package who matriculates her art so very well and Maggie Cheung has big dark eyes to drown in with ectasy and another thing with envious reviewers doting on Gong Li and her limited English...I don't care about that at all...she 'talks with her eyes and facial expressions'....far better than any English prose...I love this Chinese thespian just the way she is...both these Chinese actresses 'speak volumes' in their depiction of what Asian women demand [respect]....I was saddened to see this intenational film come to and end...great shots of Hong Kong and all the enviromental trials and tribulations of a different culture, I dare say......SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF July 18, 2007

A waste of Li and Irons:Wang...what's Up?

THIS WAS AWFUL!!Usually I can find something positive to say about a film, but not with CHINESE BOX!

If you choose to waste 99 minutes with a film that is absolutely ridiculous be my guest.How could someone such as Wayne Wang who directed THE JOY LUCK CLUB and actors Gong Li (RAISE THE RED LANTERN) and Jeremy Irons (just about everything for thirty years) have ever held their heads up after this bomb!!! It is obvious that Gong Li was chosen for her crossover fame and NOT her ability to speak English!!! She is given lines such as "What?", "Yes" and the most important "No". Irons is the same if not worse as in his sex-crazed lover role in LOLITA (which was tons better).

1997 Hong Kong is in the midst of British Colonial Rule ending.What will happen to it's culture,it's society etc. as the Chinese regain rule? If that is the story then something really got lost in translation in this internationally produced debacle.This screenplay is absolutely one of the worst that I have ever sat through. The acting is simply misdirected.CHINESE BOX is ludicrous. 0 stars. July 3, 2007

Mesmerizing

Chinese Box is a mesmerizing assault on the senses: confounding, mystifying, bewildering and passionately driven from beginning to end. The acting is riveting and complex: Gong Li eloquently portrays a siren of a cipher and Jeremy Irons unrelentingly lives and breathes the role of her doomed lover. Wayne Wang's film draws you into a maze of emotions and actions that intertwine to defy all reason and yet make the most profound sense. IF you are serious about your film collection--Chinese Box is a must have. February 11, 2007

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