Chinese Box (1997)

You won't be disappointed!

One of my all time favorites.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This film is indeed a Chinese box containing some separate stories nested within the movie's frame: there's Vivian's story, there's Jean's story, and there's of course John's dramatic one, but then there's also the story of the Hong Kong island and its inhabitants and how they take the 1997 political change. I haven't seen very many Jeremy Irons films and in the ones I've seen him he plays supporting roles, but I particularly enjoyed his part in this film, especially because it seems an atypical one for him. John's friend Jim is fun to watch (see the bolero scene)although he is predictable all through. The two girls are both strong characters, even if their stories are quite different (or are they?)and I was relieved to see that their womanly instincts prevailed when it came to understanding John. All in all, "The Chinese Box" left me a very good first impression and I would recommend it to all Jeremy Irons fans.

I remember how excited I was when I first viewed "The Year of Living Dangerously" and watching the main characters in Indonesia just before the Vietnam War broke out. This is nowhere near that but I did come away thinking that this is a very personal film about the change in Hong Kong. Story does take place in Hong Kong during the last 6 months of British colonialism and the central character is John (Jeremy Irons) who is a writer and roams the city with his video camera capturing different things that go on but he is madly in love with Vivian (Gong Li) who owns a bar but has a sordid past that looms over them. John has been feeling ill and gets checked out and learns that he has leukemia and has 3 to 6 months to live.*****SPOILER ALERT*****John continues to wander the streets and he meets Jean (Maggie Cheung) who has a bad scar on her face and she sells knick knacks on the street and John becomes fascinated by her. As time dwindles down John must face the fact that changes are inevitable and the people of Hong Kong will go on without him.This film is directed by Wayne Wang who has made a good career out of making films about Asians and the way they live despite cultural differences. But while I think there are some interesting things in this film it's clearly not one of Wang's best. Film tries very hard to be thought provoking in it's overall message with the characters but it just seems to come off as ponderous. As talented as Iron's and Li are they seem a bit uninspired and the rare bursts of energy just lack any conviction. The most interesting character in the film is Jean played by Cheung and she easily steals every scene she's in and her character shows obvious layers of pain that she hides well despite the scar on her face. Cheung is a Hong Kong action star but she shows she can easily handle drama and I hope someone writes her a good script to be in. The story meanders and doesn't really have any focus in it's message and even though Wang is a good director it just comes across as lacking emotional depth.

the movie was neither boring or disgusting. it is a lesser-known gem. people who are motivated in their movie purchases by the attractiveness of the actress or how she looked in what pair of jeans aside. the drama was realistic, the characters were believable, honorable and complex. the soundtrack and sets were splendid too. nobody is claiming it is the best thing ever done, but it is worth two hours. it is thought-provoking if a bit inconclusive (as life is) and should not be written off as trash.

I purchased Chinese Box because of my new found fascination with Gong Li. She is a beautiful actress with a mysterious way about her that makes her truly fascinating. However, a film as convoluted as Chinese Box can put a death nail in someones career. The movie is about a British Journalist played by Jeremy Irons who is reflecting on the past as he is witnessing the fate of Hong Kong being taken over by China with the British Government departing. As he drolls on in voiceover about this, he also reflects on his relationship and undying love for Gong Li. There is also a side story (with no closure) about a young, scarred Chinese woman who is hiding a deep painful secret. The highlight of this film is Ruben Blades who turns in a great performance. He also sings, and being an accomplished singer, he does a great job. I wish the movie would have been about his character, it was the only interesting one in the movie. The only other highlight was how smashing Gong Li looked in a jet black t-shirt and jeans. The director of this movie, Wayne Wang, did a superior, practically perfect movie called "Smoke" which I think is brilliant. This outing however was as disgusting as looking at the gutted fish in the Hong Kong marketplace.