Made in Hong Kong

Every once in a while you'll see a film that just makes you say "wow". After the final scene goes by, you just sit there watching as the credits go by, then the black space after the credits, then the "snow" after that, then finally the tape rewinding itself. You just continue sitting there watching the screen... dumbfounded.... you just sit there and say "wow". Made In Hong kong is one of those movies. To say that this movie blew me away would be an understatement. This movie got inside of me and changed the way I look at HK cinema, or cinema as a whole for that matter, hell... it even changed the way I look at life.

Autumn Moon is a low life thug, he and some friends discover the body of a dead girl who committed suicide, and a note she left. This dead girl that he never knew ends up teaching him more about his own life than he could by himself, and also guides him to his own fate. See this movie and experience cinema at it's best.

Being half Japanese, but never having visited any other Asian places like Hong Kong, I nevertheless saw a lot of similarities between the two cultures. Take for example the energy of millions of people living next to each other. This is something I saw in Tokyo and which I recognized in this movie as well. This energy, together with the typical asian summerheat, is felt throughout the whole movie and made me both unease as well as more alert. It gives you the sense anything can happen and you have to watch out. This has everything to do with this movie, since it depicts Hongkong as a jungle where only the fittest survive. Fittest in this context means ruthless and not caring for others. The main character, a teenager and gangmember, does just this and this will prove to be fatal to him. He protects a mentally handicapped boy and falls in love with an terminally ill girl and he even offers her his kidney (which she refuses). Another similarity between the Hongkong and Japanese culture that I noticed, is the innocence and spontaneity with which the young Asians act. Europeans tend to be more serious and worry about life, whereas these guys just have fun and enjoy the moment, 'carpe diem'. This motive contrasts with the more tragic moments in the movie. Life is just like that though; it's bitter

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.

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.

Decently directed and with a good script, with bitter-sweet description of the life in HK in late 1990s, elements of violence and brutality mixed with the sweetness of young friendship and love. The music choices are so so though, the soundtrack could be much better, but what can one expect with such a tiny budget. Considering it cost only about 80k USD, the film is phenomenal. Could become a cult classic with a wider distribution.