Toward a New Hong Kong Cinema: beyond Mainland–Hong Kong co-productions

Abstract

‘Either go north or wait for death,’ the subtitle of a round table panel on the future of Hong Kong cinema, says it all. It is almost a truism to say that Hong Kong cinema has died or has become Chinese cinema. However, the recent success of local Hong Kong productions, such as Alex Law's Echoes of the Rainbow and Ann Hui's A Simple Life, seems to be telling a story of life after death. Meanwhile, Derek Kwok and Clement Cheng's Gallants, Ho-cheung Pang's Love in a Puff, Clement Cheng and Yan Yan Mak's Merry-Go-Round and Heiward Mak's High Noon, among others, have managed to portray their own visions of Hong Kong without going north. Against this backdrop, Hong Kong film critics have begun to explore the possibilities of a new wave of Hong Kong cinema. This paper endeavors to focus on two movies, Pou-Soi Cheang's Motorway and Sunny Luk and Longman Leung's Cold War, in an attempt to sketch the trajectories of a new Hong Kong cinema. Moreover, this paper argues that the indiscriminate umbrella of ‘Chinese cinema’ cannot rule out the possibility of different Hong Kong filmic imaginaries.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by “Seed Funding for Basic Research,” The University of Hong Kong [201310159016].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Szeto and Chen (2012, 122) describe the ‘SAR New Wave’ in the following way: ‘For lack of a better word, these film-makers have been called the SAR New Wave. We use this term to refer to the generation of directors who are either (1) new directors coming of age and garnering serious local critical attention after Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China (HKSAR); or (2) directors who have joined the industry earlier and may have substantial experience, but have only gained serious local critical attention and/or acclaim after 1997; but most importantly, (3) they are directors who are consciously and critically aware of themselves as working from a local condition very different from the pre-1997 Hong Kong, who takes on local issues with much greater Sinophone intra-local and inter-local awareness, and whose world-view depart from the chauvinist and xenophobic petitgrandiose Hong Kongism typical of pre-1997 Hong Kong colonial inferiority complex.’

2. I am indebted to the anonymous reviewers for underlining the uncritical dichotomy. I would like to stress that while I have reservations about co-productions, I have no intention whatsoever to argue that everything purely from Hong Kong is good, which is undoubtedly a kind of unstrategic essentialism.

3. It must be noted that this nostalgia is not a mere longing for a time that no longer exists. As pointed out by Joe Hardwick (2007), ‘The continued nostalgia for a cinema and a time that no longer exist can only result in the conclusion that everything new is old again. To fully appreciate what is nouvelle in this supposed nouvelle Nouvelle Vague requires a letting go of the old and an embracing of those characteristics which actually distinguish it from the filmic movements of preceding generations, notably the plurality and diversity of perspectives it offers and its personal rather than overtly political interest in the marginal, the peripheral and the everyday, filmed with an intimate proximity to the characters it frames. Only then might we be able to consider it a true cinéma de liberté.’

4. The nostalgic discourse in Hong Kong in recent years is, interestingly enough, shared by Mainland movie fans. South Metropolis Daily, one of the most popular and outspoken newspapers in Mainland China, published a special feature entitled ‘Reasons behind the Comeback of Local Hong Kong Movies’ (in Chinese; http://dailynews.sina.com/gb/ent/film/sinacn/m/2010-05-15/ba2959091.html) on 15 May 2010, claiming that there had been too many non-descript co-productions. In the eyes of most audience, according to the editors, Hong Kong filmmakers could only exploit their advantages to the full in local productions, making them attractive to Mainland audience. However, since the advent of Mainland-Hong Kong co-productions, Hong Kong directors went north to produce films without Hong Kong characteristics. The editors used the special feature to praise the comeback of local productions with Hong Kong characteristics, hoping that there would be less lousy co-productions and more high-quality ‘Made in Hong Kong’ films. It is important to note that the Mainland market is a very special one – it is severely distorted by strict censorship. Films tailored-made for the Mainland market have first to pass through censor review, and as a result, they may not be able to hit the fancy of the audience. Mainland fans of Hong Kong cinema were disappointed with the co-productions which have lost the Hong Kong characteristics of those films they saw through different channels. The ‘nostalgia’ for Hong Kong cinema in the discourse of Mainland fans signifies the loss of not only the golden years of Hong Kong cinema but also their choice of alternative filmic imaginaries.

5. Back in June 2004, more than 200 Hong Kong professionals and academics signed a declaration to defend the core values of the city, which include liberty, democracy, human rights, rule of law, fairness, social justice, peace and compassion, integrity and transparency, plurality, respect for individuals and upholding professionalism (‘Standing Firm on Hong Kong's Core Values,’ cited from http://hkspeech.wordpress.com/2004/06/07/%E7%B6%AD%E8%AD%B7%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E6%A0%B8%E5%BF%83%E5%83%B9%E5%80%BC%E5%AE%A3%E8%A8%80/). These core values, as stated by the Chief Executive Chun-ying Leung in his Policy Address in 2013, include ‘human rights, rule of law, clean government, freedom and democracy, tolerance of different stances and views, and respect for press freedom’ (The 2013 Policy Address: Seek Change Maintain Stability, Serve the People with Pragmatism. Hong Kong: The Government of Hong Kong SAR, 2013, p.71). Apparently, the values remain basically the same after 10 years.

6. Johnnie To's Drug War is another interesting example. Considered ‘the last flag’ of Hong Kong cinema, To formally entered the Mainland market with Drug War. To's 50th film, Drug War also marks the 25th anniversary of his gangster film The Big Heat (1988). Whether this is a ‘northern expedition’ — the first truly successful crime thriller by a Hong Kong director released in the Mainland — or just another example of Mainlandization, it is not possible to tell here, but it is certain that Drug War has marked a major turning point in the history of Mainland–Hong Kong co-productions. As this topic, which must be dealt with in another full-length essay, goes beyond the scope of Hong Kong cinema and co-productions, no further details will be offered here.

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Yiu-wai Chu

Yiu-wai CHU is a professor of Hong Kong Studies at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures of the University of Hong Kong. He is also the director of the Hong Kong Studies Programme. His most recent publication is Lost in Transition: Hong Kong Culture in the Age of China (Albany: SUNY Press, 2013).