Revisiting 'Made in Hong Kong'

I haven't really known what to watch lately. I haven't really had much interest in the major blockbuster titles that have been releasing as of late, I've given some a go and they just didn't quite manage to stick with me. Some being far too long. Some just not being that interesting despite being those blockbuster epics that tend to fill cinema seats. At the same time, even those have struggled as of late. Despite this feeling of wanting to watch things but also not having the time to spend roaming through online lists and trying things I may or may not like, I decided to just fill that time revisiting a few films that I do like and haven't seen in a while. Films that heavily inspired me regarding both photography and filmmaking. The other day, and while I didn't end up writing about it, I saw Fallen Angels again. I decided I'll also return to another film that I found quite beautiful: Made in Hong Kong. A debut for its young director at the time, and one that connected closely with the cultural shift and anxiety that came with Hong Kong's youthful population that was soon to enter yet another societal change as it exited from British rule and the lingering Mainland China rule was to come.

Now, whenever I do these little revisits to films I have already seen, they're not really reviews. They're something a bit mixed between a review and some additional thoughts that came to mind upon seeing the whole thing again. Taking note of the things that I had missed before. Finding new emotion within the compositions, the lighting, and the story. So don't expect there to be any sort of main discussion regarding the narrative here. It's more a way for me to throw out those newfound observations and appreciations for the filmmaking more than anything else. Made in Hong Kong came around the same time as the New Wave cinema era, around the same time as Fallen Angels, around the same time as John Woo's action rise to fame. It came at a politically sensitive era. At a time of uncertainty. At a time of rising globalist influence which made many nations question their identities around the same time. Not long after the Soviet Union's collapse. As the Internet still hadn't quite spread but was used. Where western media domination was probably at its peak. In a world where everything is telling you who to be and how, how does a troubled lost youth actually find themselves? Within Made in Hong Kong is a narrative that explores a protagonist in his attempt to do so. A fatherless child growing up in a rough environment. His idea of a man formed from what the action films show. From what the gangsters around his display in their desperate bids for power and greed. Autumn Moon is struggling to find his own concept of what being a man is to those around him, he starts to fall in love and feels the need to show a more sensitive side of himself he had no idea existed. He almost has to take the fatherly role for his friend who can't quite defend himself but is often bullied for his condition. The empathy is pulled out of him. Something the directing does as well is it displays that chaos of Hong Kong's streets. Where there is always something going on. It shows the gritty. The regular. The vengeance of its inner walls as people seek out violent acts upon others. And Autumn Moon sees it all. But slowly is pulled away with the question of the self. The directing shows empty corridors. The innocence of running through the hills. The messy market stalls of the streets. A complex web of depth that offers multiple pathways to us all.

In the scene in which Autumn Moon prances around the empty apartment in the dark with a gun, where the only light comes in from the static of television and some light from outdoors, it really shows this altered perspective he has on reality. While to him it looks cool, it shows a delusional state in which he feels he is powerful. In which he feels he is a man capable of killing. Though everything we have seen prior to this states completely otherwise. This scene, which I didn't quite make such a connection to before, really highlights that inevitable growth the character starts to have. Where he's still a bit oblivious to the change to come. Still thinking he's in control of his life. That he is one of those gangsters, but one that isn't also capable of ending up like the rest: hacked up with butcher's knives. Beaten in the streets. Or actually killed. This is connected with the following sequence in which he's tasked with actually killing. Slow motion that depicts the time slowing down in his mind as he questions his actions. As he casts more and more doubt upon himself.

The film remains as beautiful as I remember. The cinematography and colours of that film stock. A vibrant sunny Hong Kong in the 90s. Where there's always something going on. That density of the people. The beauty of the light whether artificial or nature. The rustic interiors of old buildings mixed with the colonial British white that surrounds train stations and other environments.