Chinese Box (1997)

reviewed by
Michael Dequina


(out of ****)

Chinese Box (R) ** Comrades: Almost a Love Story **** Director Wayne Wang is understandably passionate about China's July 1, 1997 takeover of Hong Kong; having been born and raised there, and it is not surprising that he chose to address the issue in a film. But instead of taking the predictable route and focusing on the politics of the changeover, Wang, with the help of writers Jean-Claude Carriere, Larry Gross, and Paul Theroux, decided to use the upheaval as the backdrop for a love story. Not a bad decision in theory, but definitely one in practice, for the resulting film, the disappointing Chinese Box, is as cold and uninteresting as a smaller HK-set romance currently in release, the modest HK production Comrades: Almost a Love Story, is lively and touching. The obvious passion that Wang has for his homeland does not visibly extend his two tortured lovers, John (Jeremy Irons) and Vivian (Gong Li). John is a terminally ill British journalist who has lived in Hong Kong for 15 years; former Mainlander Vivian is a bar owner trying to live down her past as a prostitute. John, who left behind a wife and children in England, is deeply in love with Vivian, but her foolish hope that high-society boyfriend Chang (Michael Hui) will marry her keeps them apart. This should be an involving triangle, but it never once engages the emotions, due in large part to the ill-defined backstory between John and Vivian. What passes for insight comes in the form of a brief, dialogue-free, and extremely vague flashback in which John, through a voiceover, says in so many words that he and Vivian met in Shanghai, grew close, "should have" become lovers but did not. It is hard to develop a rooting interest in their potential romance if there is never a clear idea of the bond they supposedly share. Even more problematic is the character of Vivian--that is, if she even qualifies as one. The stunning Li is mainland China's premier actress, and anyone familiar with her work in films such as Ju Dou know that her exquisite beauty is more than matched by her formidable acting ability. However, anyone seeing her for the first time in Chinese Box will come away with a strong idea of the former but not the latter. Since this film marks Li's English-language debut, it is understandable that the filmmakers would keep her English lines to a minimum. But just how little dialogue she is given is beyond ridiculous: "What?", "John," "Your problem, I fix it," "Bye," "Excuse me," and "Thank you" covers about half of her lines; her dialogue in Chinese adds up to little more. So for most of her screen time, Li is called on to do little more than look gorgeous, with Vivian coming off as more of an object than a flesh-and-blood person. If anything holds any audience interest in Chinese Box, it is the supporting character of Jean, played by versatile Hong Kong superstar Maggie Cheung. Jean is a streetwise hustler whom John interviews for a video account of colonial Hong Kong's final six months, attempting to put a finger on the nation's "soul." Jean is a fascinating character, whose hardened exterior hides the deep emotional scars that match the one that brands her face; she was abused by her father as a child, and she still pines for the true love of her teen years, a Briton whose rejection of her prompted a suicide attempt. But much like the other threads in the film, her storyline does not reach a satisfying resolution, and the conclusions that Chinese Box does reach are simple and obvious. I am not spoiling anything when John comes to the ultimate realization that the elusive "soul" of Hong Kong is not defined but constantly changing. Hong Kong's perpetual evolution is also used as the backdrop for a romance in Peter Chan's 1996 decade-spanning masterpiece Comrades: Almost a Love Story, which also stars Cheung and is currently rolling out across the States on a city-by-city basis. The comrades of the title are Qiao (Cheung) and Xiaojun (Leon Lai), two native Mainlanders, who, as the film begins, live in Hong Kong. Their shared homeland is just about the only thing the worldly wise Qiao and the naive Xiaojun have in common. Xiaojun maintains strong ties to China, in Hong Kong only to earn enough money to marry his sweetheart back home while the ambitious Qiao hides her mainland origins, working every minute of the day to achieve her dream of a wealthy livelihood. The two first meet in 1986 at a McDonald's, where she holds down one of her numerous jobs. Although her involvement with him should end once she refers him to a language school (earning a commission, of course), the two form an unlikely and often humorous friendship that leads to love. It's just that the two are much too proud to admit to it--even as they spend more than one passionate night together. As the years pass, their chosen life paths take Qiao and Xiaojun in opposite directions (literally and figuratively), but fate constantly brings them back together, only to be pulled apart at every juncture by conflicting dreams, love affairs, or both. It sounds rather contrived, but the stream of plot developments that Chan and screenwriter Ivy Ho devise are entirely believable, which makes every reunion/breakup cycle all the more heartbreaking. The story's poignance is further elevated by the electric chemistry between Lai and Cheung, whose work here won her the 1997 Hong Kong Film Award (one of the film's nine, including Best Picture and Best Director) for Best Actress. Lai is quite good, but Cheung is the real marvel. Her wonderfully expressive features are used to full effect by Chan, whether to convey Qiao's spunky haughtiness at the beginning or her eventual soul-aching longing (a simple, late-in-the-film gaze she casts upon Xiaojun as he walks away from her car is particularly gut-wrenching). Both Chinese Box and Comrades: Almost a Love Story tell simple romances, but their difference in effect can be attributed to the effort behind it. The beauty of Comrades comes in how it does not try too hard; everything about it feels natural and real. On the other hand, Wang and company, as much as they wanted to make a Hong Kong story, were obviously straining for an idea; as such, what should have been the emotional hook of Chinese Box is forced and unconvincing, rendering that talent-heavy film shockingly impotent. (Chinese Box opens April 3)


Michael Dequina mrbrown@ucla.edu | michael_jordan@geocities.com | mj23@the18thhole.com mrbrown@michaeljordanfan.com | mj23@michaeljordanfan.com mrbrown@iname.com | mst3k@digicron.com

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