euroGary Made in 2015, 'Ten Years' is a collection of stand-alone stories from different directors that speculate what Hong Kong might be like one decade hence. As such it is surprising the self-imposed authorities in Beijing allowed the film to be made, let alone screened, as most of the stories take a dim view of the Chinese Communist Party's stewardship of the former British territory.Four of the five stories are interesting and enjoyable, so let's get the dross out of the way first: 'Season of the End', in which a dreary young couple collect specimens of smashed pottery, ash and the like in order to preserve them. Whether this refers to a fad in current-day Hong Kong I do not know, but there seems little purpose to the film, which meanders all over the place, including some ramblings about a holiday the pair took in New Zealand. Perhaps that is the last time they were happy; after sitting through this story, I know how they feel! It is interesting that the least political of the stories is the dullest.Okay, on to the good stuff: In 'Local Egg' a shopkeeper wonders from where he will source his eggs following the closure of Hong Kong's last poultry farm, and also has to contend with his son's membership of a young communist group that reports deviations from approved labelling in shops. The prospect of children being used to inform on their elders is chilling but all too believable, and the actor playing the everyman grocer gives a nice performance of a man frustrated by petty regulations.Another nice everyman performance comes from the lead actor in 'Dialect', in which a taxi driver finds his business shrinking because he does not speak well enough the officially-sanctioned Mandarin (Hong Kong's traditional language being Cantonese). This is another example of the Beijing authorities seeking to stamp out local distinctiveness (for an extreme example today, see Tibet). It is enjoyable, but for the viewer who speaks neither Cantonese nor Mandarin and is relying instead on the English sub-titles the full impact was probably lost.'Extras' follows a plot by members of the Hong Kong elite to pave the way for Beijing to introduce a (presumably restrictive) national security law. Their plan is to shoot one of two politicians appearing at a neighbourhood rally. While discussions continue as to which politician to attack, the ethnic-Indian gangster charged with carrying it out tries to convince himself it will be a success. Shot in black-and-white, this is a suspenseful work.'Extras' is very enjoyable, but it is beaten by a whisker as the best contribution by 'Self-Immolator', which seeks to assign responsibility for its former territory to the United Kingdom. As the story begins, we see the smoking remains of someone who has set themselves alight outside the British Consulate-General as part of a campaign to force the UK to challenge the Chinese authorities' behaviour. Using a mixture of straight drama and mock interviews, the film then goes back in time a few days, following the lives of various characters (including another ethnic Indian, this time a female student) one of whom, we are led to believe, is the suicide. There's a heart-breaking twist to this tale.Overall this collection is politically rather one-sided: the only real acknowledgement that some Hong Kongers support Chinese control of the territory is in 'Extras', and I assume a bunch of people plotting assassination are hardly representative of most citizens of HK! But as long as the viewer accepts that (completely understandable) bias, this is - 'Season of the End' aside - a terrific collection of stories.

politic1983 'Happy Together' by Wong Kar-wai is one of my favourite films, an allegory of two gay men from Hong Kong travelling across Argentina, seemingly exiled from home. A film made just before the UK's hand- over of Hong Kong in 1997, the anxieties of what will become of Hong Kong over the next fifty years have been something looked at in the arts, as well as played out in the real-life streets of the SAR. 'Ten Years' is five shorts set in and around the year 2025, ten years after the film was made: in 2015, Maths fans. Each take a more-than-slightly controversial look at various aspects of life and how they could be changed in the future, as China's influence grows. I'm sure China took kindly to it.'Extras', the opening tale, is regarding two Triads, chosen to be pawns in a political chess game with public opinion. The National Security chiefs feel that their role will be undermined, with little fear among the populace. Therefore, the two hapless Triads are offered big money to shoot at two politicians, creating public fear, highlighting the need for Security Forces. An inside act of terror, this is one for conspiracy theorists all over. The short itself, however, is fairly simplistic and feels a little amateurish in execution. It's probably best that this one flies by at the start.The second is by far the strangest of the quintet, and left me feeling even the actors don't really know what is going on. A couple of 'specimen collectors' go about their 'research' in an abandoned building, but little is really clear as to what exactly they are doing, or why. With parts that remind of György Pálfi's 'Taxidermia' and others 'The Shining', this is a random collection of 'specimens' of scenes, thrown together with little coherent story to speak of.The first two a bit weak, thankfully the third picks up the pace greatly. A taxi driver struggles with the new policy that all drivers must speak Putonghua instead of Cantonese to be able to pick up certain fares. This leads to comedy moments as he tries to learn pronunciations of words, such as 'David Beckham.' But for the driver that previously had to learn English to get work now struggles with another language being forced upon him, potentially taking his livelihood as a result.The fourth is probably the most controversial, a mockumentary about someone self-immolating themselves outside the British Consulate. Speaking with various academics and writers on the subject of protest movements, it tells the story of a young student whose imprisonment inspired others, as they try to identify the silent protester. It speaks of many subjects, relevant in light of recent movements in Hong Kong, and how these could tragically develop as the years pass.The fifth and final story is of a vendor whose son, along with all other children, has to take part in activities on behalf of the government, keeping surveillance on all shops and points of sale. The smallest of things will be noted, with common sense forgotten as the young children blindly follow orders. Picked up for advertising 'local eggs', when the approved 'Hong Kong eggs' should be used, he questions his son as to what it is he is doing in his role, concerned that his son is becoming a brainwashed trooper for the secret police. But soon he learns that his son has been assisting some of the shops he is sent to keep an eye on, showing that independent thought and protest are still alive and well in the future's youth. These five Orwellian visions of what may become of Hong Kong are varied in quality, but all raise interesting anxieties present among a people as to what the future may hold. Well, maybe not 'Season of the End'. As a UK resident, while different in their circumstances, the situation in Hong Kong reflects the uncertainty that surrounds the UK's political future and what impacts, with various doomsday scenarios playing out in the minds of all concerned, if you're bothered, that is.It could prove that there is little change afoot, but the human mind cannot cope with uncertainty, and Hong Kong has another thirty years of anxiety ahead of it before anyone's ideas can be founded. politic1983.blogspot.co.uk

gill This is not one film but five, each a self-contained depiction of Hong Kong in the year 2025. While #3-#5 are well worth your time, you are advised to skip the first two.Below is a rundown of the five films.#1. Beijing wants to stage a political assassination to stir fear in Hong Kong. Now, if manufacturing fear is your goal, would you rather the incident take place at a rally in Victoria Park attended by thousands of people, or at a holiday celebration in a school auditorium with a few dozen senior citizens? The screenwriter prefers the auditorium. Then about 2/3 of the film is spent discussing which of the two possible targets should be shot in order to maximize the terror-inducing effect, and the conclusion reached at long last is that -- why didn't we think of that? -- BOTH should be shot. The plan is carried out, ending in what's supposedly a twist of fate for the assassins, but by that time if you're still watching, you will hardly care.#2. Probably not the most pretentious film you'll ever see, nor the most unintentionally funny. But you get a bit of both. Man and woman have a job no real people have, talk like no real people do, and come up with an idea no real people (I hope) ever tried. At one point, the man ingests coagulant (that's THE IDEA), and somehow starts to feel like taking a walk, but finds his room locked. In a fit of anger he punches and shoves a cupboard so very gently that nothing breaks and a 1.5-meter-long ax sitting precariously on top of the cupboard does not fall. Then, still angry, he grabs the ax and judiciously chops away a tiny patch of wall between the cupboard and a full-length mirror, hitting neither the cupboard nor the mirror in the process. "Why is everything like this?" he protests. Indeed, why is everything in this film like this?#3. We finally get to the better part. There is not a lot of story here -- just a cab driver's struggle with Putonghua -- but what there is, is quite realistic, and told in a natural, restrained tone without unnecessary fanfare. There is a poignant moment when another cabbie observes that Cantonese has never been the privileged language -- before Putonghua it was English. That's today's Hong Kong writ small: the absence of that which has never been, is now more acutely felt than ever.#4. Arguably the best of the bunch, or at least one of the best, on a par with #3, but with a major flaw. The format (mockumentary) is prefect for the subject matter (a growing movement that calls for Hong Kong's independence). The premise -- after an activist died in a hunger strike, someone burnt him/herself in front of the British Consulate -- while bold, is not far-fetched. The voice of the majority of Hong Kong people (majority in real life now, and still majority in the film) who either oppose independence or do not really care -- this, however, is conspicuously missing. The only representative of such people is a racist store keeper who expresses himself primarily by throwing eggs.#5. Not what I'd call a credible story (boy scouts turning into Red Guards?), but if you take it as a big metaphor for something untold in the film itself, it can be rather revealing. And no doubt it manages to capture the fear of many Hong Kong people. But to those who do not share the same fear, it may come across as contrived and paranoid.Overall:Worth watching, though more for the political perspective than for the aesthetic pleasure. And only for the last 53 minutes (thus just 6 stars for the whole thing) -- as is sometimes said in times of turbulence and uncertainty, it has to get worse before it gets better.

Stephan Ortmann This collection of five short films is an amazing selection of dystopic visions that explore the worries of Hong Kong citizens. Driven by the growing intervention of China in the former British colony, many are worried about the destruction of their way of life. Each of the films uses this general theme differently from conspiracies to the Kafkaesque, the shorts tell the story of the less fortunate, the scientists, the food sellers, the taxi drivers, and the localists who are fighting for the autonomy or even independence of China's special administrative region. Each of the episodes move the audience deeply. As the movie paints an increasingly negative picture of Chinese rule over the city, it is not surprising that articles in official Chinese government mouthpieces have chastised the movie. Even in Hong Kong, many movie theaters did not show this film, which is a true shame, considering that the others were often sold out. I am truly hoping for a DVD soon! This is a movie I must own.