John is an English photojournalist who has spent over a decade in Hong Kong; his friend Jim often crashes in his cramped apartment. John's unrequited love is Vivian whom he aches for but has not the nerve to possess. Concurrent with England's transfer of Hong Kong back to the Chinese, John discovers that he has a rare form of leukemia and has only months to live. So John, Jim, and the disfigured proto-hippy Jean grab a digital video camera and prowl the streets, seeking to do... (Full plot summary below)
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John is an English photojournalist who has spent over a decade in Hong Kong; his friend Jim often crashes in his cramped apartment. John's unrequited love is Vivian whom he aches for but has not the nerve to possess. Concurrent with England's transfer of Hong Kong back to the Chinese, John discovers that he has a rare form of leukemia and has only months to live. So John, Jim, and the disfigured proto-hippy Jean grab a digital video camera and prowl the streets, seeking to document the "real" Hong Kong one last time.
Leave your thoughts about Chinese Box.
| Film Journal InternationalPeter HenneWang is moving toward a clearer objectivity. |
| User ReviewDavid ZLike any movie reaching for something beyond itself, it is susceptible to accusations of failure. However, each character you learn is an archetype, the final orphan of Hong Kong is left in the clutches of its new master while a man encounters himself in his old love while saying goodbye, to everything. |
| User ReviewNellie K. AWatched this while I was home sick, and I was deeply affected by it. Beautiful film, what a great tale about life & love, with a great cast. The characters are all living in Hong Kong around the time of it changing hands from British rule to Chinese. But it's so much more than that... |
| User ReviewPreston PBrilliant allegory, where the characters and their interactions represent many the forces that shape Hong Kong, past and present. Infused with a sensual nostalgia, the acting, directing and photography are top notch. |
| User ReviewGimena SJeremy Irons mekes us discover something about life. |
| User ReviewKan TI liked this movie the first time I seen it and I wouldn't mind seeing it again, and again, and possibly even once more after that. |
| User ReviewPrivate UMy boyfriend at the time fell asleep during this film when I rented it...because I had loved it so much on the big screen. It's the video cam interest of mine - reason why I like this film so much. |
| User ReviewFelicia RI have been wanting to see this for some time. Today I happened to be flipping past IFC and it had just started, True story. Jeremy Irons is a great actor. Gong Li is a great actress. Plain and simple. This movie, was interesting. There is a lot going on here, and if you don't pay attention you may miss something. The story is centralized around Irons character, but there seems to be like 5 different stories unfolding. Iron's narration is great. Gong Li's character is compelling, especially when she is watching the old movie in the bar, and she is acting it out. Maggie Cheung has been in some great movies, and I really liked her character in this. I like how the story takes place during the transfer of control of Hong Kong. It sets the theme for the stories. Part of the movie is shot like the documentary Irons is creating, so you have the bouncy camera movement. One of the most interesting things about this movie is the soundtrack. It was really really good, and mixed in with a heart beat every so often. Overall I think this was a little tough to follow, and see where it is going, but still very good nevertheless. |
| User ReviewGreg Wanother winner from one of my fave WORKING directors, Wayne Wang ('the joy luck club' and 'smoke' |
| User ReviewShane GI love the period it's set it and the political aspects discussed, but the focus was on the relationship between Gong and Irons... and they just didn't have enough chemistry. |
