dromasca The world is changing around the characters in 'Chinese Box'. The screen time focuses on the six months between the New Year 1997 and the end of the British rule in Hong Kong. It's also the time that is left for John, the principal character of the film, a freelance journalist trying to store on film and in words the transition and dying of leukemia. It is the time when not only the world is changing in an unknown direction, but also when John may or may not find the fulfilling of his great love to Vivian, a beautiful Chinese bartender with a dubious past, herself in love with a third, Chinese man.The story is a combination between culture clash movies intertwined with love stories a la 'Shogun' with love stories in the shade of a crumbling world as in 'Casablanca'. It is to the credit of the director that despite a little too simplistic and explicit romantic intrigue he succeeds to bring to screen and combine a little of the charm of both genres in the right dosage. One may wonder where did Wayne Wang's career go lately and why he rather picked to do trashy films as 'Maid in Manhattan'.The strength of the film and what makes it survive well the decade since its realization resides however in the rendition of the city, of its infinite colors and smells, of the crowd and the noise, of its hopes, fears and dreams in the wake of the falling under Communist rule. Jeremy Irons is perfect as he will ever be, Li Gong is an enigmatic Chinese Hepburn, and Ruben Blades and Maggie Chang fill in two memorable supporting roles and another lateral story that fits well in the mosaic. 'Chinese Box' catches both a moment to remember in history and a beautiful love story to remember as well, on the background of a world in transition to an unknown destination.

endlessrain The players in this film, Ironsd, Li and Cheung, all have symbolic roles.Gong Li represents Hong Kong. She is a whore that every man wants.As someone even says in the film; "Hong Kong is a whore and now it has a new pimp".Irons represents, of course, Britain, and doesn't have long left, symbolized by his having cancer. Irons tries to win over Li, but to no avail. The handover is happening and nothing can stop it.Maggie Cheung (in a great and convincing performance) is the jilted lover, the part of Hong Kong that has been tricked by Britain's promises of democracy and a western way of life.When Maggie meets her former lover, the Brit doesn't even remember her... it is a poignant and believable moment.Irons is a bit flat but Gong Li is a simmering sex goddess. Perfect for her allegorical role.

widescreenguy I've been to Hong Kong twice and the way it is portrayed in this film is dead on. the hustle and bustle, street hawkers, apartment interiors, the faces, traffic volume are all there.this is definitely a love story with a twist. Jeremy Irons is a British actor so he lacks the pretentiousness of Americans and so can correctly portray the pathos needed for that of a man deeply in love with a woman who is holding out for something better; until it is too late.Gong Li is the quintessential barfly/escort trying to marry into a better social position, but who *finally* realizes it is not to be and then turns to the man who does want to marry her only to discover he is so jaded (no pun intended) that he at first harshly spurns her. she even resorts to attempting to seduce him in her barmaid persona but of course that doesn't work either.Maggie Cheung was fantastic as the other woman in his life, a street person who likewise has a troubled past.this film has an exceptionally strong message about the trials of life and how we have to make the most of the successes and victories that do come our way. a must see for anyone intrigued by life in modern China. and anywhere in the world for that matter.

tedg A imperfect film to my tastes, but definitely worth watching for two elements, the French connection and the enfolding of stories.In the sixties, we were blessed with a flood of highly person films, some of which embodied a sense of meaningless angst, conveyed in a rough, expressionistic style. French cinema is moribund now, but the tradition has been revived by Hong Kong art films. This film stays still by moving, focuses on characters by highlighting the city.Here, the effort is focused on a modern obsession, the trustworthiness of the narrative. So we have a film about stories and storytelling. Vivian's story haunts her; she has helped build a story for Chang which brings him success but her ruin (because of her old story).Irons plays a man paid to tell "the story" on Hong Kong, who realizes the current story is empty and the "new" story (by the great inventors of history, the communists) will differ only superficially.OOPS! Spoiler warning. Stop now if concerned.He is given a story about his death (is it true?). He tracks down Jean who tells two stories. Is the first true? Then we get the story about her jilting and attempted suicide. This is brought into question as well. And we never get the story we wonder about, how her scar came to be.Vivian spins an alternate identity as a whore, in order to pierce the many-yeared barrier between her and Irons. You really should see this film together with "French Lieutenant's Woman." In both cases, a fiction reveals truth, in both, Irons is the hapless victim. That is lush, this is bare. That references French Impressionism, this English Colonialism (think about the confluence) but the dynamic is the same, as is the notion of enfolded time and relative truth.Worth seeing.