Made in Hong Kong

Fruit Chan's debut film was seen by many in Hong Kong as a metaphor for the foreboding that gripped the colony in the years before 1997, and Chan himself has said that it is the first part of a trilogy on the handover--the second part is "The Longest Night." Metaphorical resonances aside, though, under the energetic, sometimes violent surface of "Made in China" is a film of haunting sadness and compassion. The central character, the young, jobless Autumn Moon, is proud of his ability to live by his wits; but he ends up in a world that his wits can't handle. Chan's ingenuity in making this film on a tiny budget with amateur actors is obvious, but one leaves the film overwhelmed with sadness for the lives of the characters--most of all Autumn Moon's, and his despairing inability to help the people he cares about.

absolutely blown away by this film. It got to me like no other film. I couldn't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. I started mourning for them, sitting there in front of the tv, watching the light went out and the sun started to set. It hurts.

"Made In Hong Kong" is one of the best movies i have watched that have come from Hong Kong. This was directorial debut of Fruit Chan and it is impressive for the first movie. This movie was made on low budget with amateur actors but it is the best thing, that made this movie to be more realistic and unique. Sam Lee is just fantastic in the role of the main character Moon, you can really feel the emotions and his expressions, and this role is just natural for him, i can really imagine him to be like that in real life, and i really like his character, he is just small thug but in heart he is good person, he was made like that because of environment in which he grew up, it is my opinion that all people are generally born good, but society and regimes made people to came on the wrong side. I also liked the relationship between Moon and Ping, it was beautifully portrayed and it reminds me of the works of Kai War Wong, it was beautiful and melancholic. I also like the end of the movie and the last sequences, i totally understands that for some people in his position, death is only solution. I will definitely watch more movies from Fruit Chan in the future.

At least two famous film critics retired at a time when they felt they were no longer in step with new cinema. One was a much revered Sunday newspaper journalist in the UK who saw the writing on the wall when she could only register her loathing for "Psycho". Although I am not a professional critic and simply like to impart enthusiasm rather than condemnations through this website, I sometimes wonder if I am out of step with what a much younger generation of audiences admire. I have all but ceased going to the commercial cinema where nine out of ten offerings seem to be mindless kids' fodder delivered at a painfully high decibel level. Far too often those that my peergroup recommend, "0negin" or "The House of Mirth" for example, I find to be dreary and portentous. And so I sit through endless art house movies, many of them enervating in the extreme, just for that wonderful sense of discovery when something like "La Promesse" from Belgium or "After Life" from Japan occurs. However, I had a sobering experience the other day which has warned me not to be too dismissive of "youth appeal" films when I saw "Made in Hong Kong". First impressions were dreadful, slapdash hand-held camera stuff, washed out colours, tempo continuously at feverpitch and a plot I could barely follow - the last factor is something I recognise as a personal shortcoming if my interest is not initially aroused. I could not quite pinpoint at the time why I did not abandon there and then a film I was barely comprehending or why something afterwards tempted me to give it a second go. I was extremely glad I did as I think I achieved an insight into why such a film can work for young people. The three main characters are all so likeable. There is Moon the school dropout turned toughie, his sidekick a retard whom he protects called Sylvester and Ping the girl with a serious kidney disease whom they are both soft on. For all its violent rough cut trappings, "Made in Hong Kong" is an incredibly sentimental film about camaraderie of the "Kings Row" sort that my generation wallowed in and "Dead Poets Society" revered by the generation in between. It is that old "youth - death" thing all over again. My recognition and appreciation of this in a film initially as alien as "Made in Hong Kong" gives me hope that I can still keep in step.

Despite a weak last half-hour, Fruit Chan's debut is absolutely stunning. It continues the 'new Hong Kong' visual style (strobe, overexposure, freeze-frames, and jump-cutting) that fellow director Wong-Kar Wai has pioneered in his last three films. In addition to superb cinematography and editing, the storyline also is exceptional, taking the viewer into the harsh realities of Hong Kong youth gangs. Autumn Moon, the main character, is a rare creation - both attractive and repulsive. The moment we begin to empathize with him, he pushes us away with his enormous capacity for violence. This perfect mix of tenderness and harshness push it head and shoulders above most Hong Kong cinema, not only of 1997, but of any other year as well.