I bought "China Box" because of the two leading actors, Jeremy Irons and Gong Li. An English gentleman with a unique style, and a Chinese woman who dominates the film industry. For so many years, no matter what kind of criticism Gong Li has suffered, I always think that her performance is excellent. The films she takes are not limited by any subject matter, and the roles she plays are ever-changing.
"China Box" tells the story of a terminally ill British journalist on the eve of Hong Kong's handover. The sluggish economy of Hong Kong at that time, the turmoil brought about by Hong Kong's impending return to Hong Kong people, and the complicated cultural history of Hong Kong itself are the background of this film.
Hong Kong in the lens is gray, just like Shanghai in "Suzhou River". There are no glamorous skyscrapers, and most of them are shot in narrow streets. We can see countless ordinary people living a monotonous and self-sufficient life all day long. life, they are not rich, but there is no sadness on their faces, everything is as it should be.
Most of the footage was shot with a handheld camera. On the one hand, there are many scenes shot on the street, interspersed with the pictures of DV in John's hands, which are messy but without losing details; on the other hand, even indoors, when the characters are close to still, there is still slight shaking, which makes people feel like life right in front of you.
John learned that he was terminally ill, but he was powerless in the face of love, the return of Hong Kong, and the departure of his motherland from this land. He walks the streets all day, filming, hoping to get something from strangers. So he met Maggie Cheung.
Maggie Cheung's Jane is very characterful and very characteristic, but it is definitely not representative. She has a large top handle on the left side of her face, and she runs on the streets to sell counterfeit goods. She once fell in love with a British student when she was in school. However, when she met him through John many years later, he had long forgotten the promise he made, even she was Nobody remembers. She was extremely sad, her waiting, her existence seemed meaningless for a moment.
And Gong Li plays Wei An, a social lady from the mainland. In order to have a stable home in Hong Kong, she decides to marry Mr. Zhang, an entrepreneur, and rejects John's sincere marriage proposal. But she found that even so, could not erase her disgraceful history. When she learns that John is terminally ill, she decides to accompany him through his final days.
The three represent the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the mainland respectively.
The music of the film won the Best Original Soundtrack Award at that year's Venice Film Festival. There are many different styles of songs, such as Du Dewei's Unintentional Hurt, Chen Sheng/Xinbaodao Kang Band-Happy Gathering Song, RUBEN BLADE-cross the borderline, etc. . But the most important thing is the Chinese Box Theme by Zhu Zheqin and Graeme Revell. The open and bright Tibetan style, accompanied by crowded and messy pictures, makes everyone have a world in their hearts. Ruben Blade plays John's friend in the film, and he improvises and sings with a guitar, which is moving. The song Across the borderline is very nice.
Luckily, the disc I bought came with the original sound, although the sound quality was not very good, the bitrate was only 96kbps.
In addition, the film will see many familiar actors as supporting roles. For example, the person who committed suicide by swallowing a gun at the New Year's party was Zhang Jincheng, and the nightclub girl sitting with Gong Li was He Chaoyi, etc.
I like this kind of mixed cast, because you don't know what kind of sparks will come out of the intersection of multiple cultures.
At the end of the film, Wei An was on the sunny street and saw the bloody heart of the fish, still beating.
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