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Hong Kong movies cater more to China
2007-04-30
Hong Kong movies, long known for their stylish violence, are being geared toward the expanding Chinese market and stricter censorship standards there, and observers are worried that Hong Kong cinema is losing its edge. Hong Kong-Chinese co-productions are now the norm. Top directors favor ancient Chinese epics that appeal to a broader audience and are less likely to offend Chinese censors wary of bloodshed or flesh baring. Stories about gang feuds and urban love stories are becoming rare, giving way to period dramas. John Woo, who made the Hong Kong gangster classic "A Better Tomorrow" and moved on to Hollywood fame, is about to start shooting "Red Cliff," based on a famous ancient Chinese battle. Such movies are more often shot in the national Chinese dialect of Mandarin rather than Hong Kong's native Cantonese. "Now the first thing Hong Kong investors will say is you have to find a mainland Chinese partner. Can this movie be released in mainland China? If it can't, (they'll say) `I'll have some concerns,'" said Peter Tsi, executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The shift toward more culturally generic topics is motivated in part by a heightened sensitivity to China's authoritarian government, which, despite free market reforms, screens media content carefully. Ann Hui, a respected Hong Kong director, said she was careful about portraying a Chinese policewoman in her Chinese-financed love story "Goddess of Mercy." "The Chinese censorship system bans quite a few topics," including sex, violence and "the dark side of real life," she said. Some film industry insiders fear China's ideological control is stifling creativity in this freewheeling former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. "When the trend is to seek out mainland Chinese investment, topics set in mainland China and relying on the Chinese market, it's hurting the fundamental quality that's unique to Hong Kong movies," director Stanley Kwan said. William Pfeiffer, chief executive of Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures, said many believe one of the territory's most celebrated movies in recent years, "Infernal Affairs," would not have been made, given its theme. (The crime thriller, which inspired the Academy Award-winning "The Departed," portrays an undercover gangster's success in infiltrating the police.) But Hong Kong filmmakers have shown a pragmatic streak, saying they're willing to work within China's content constraints. "Sometimes when you're inspired, you can make a good movie even if you accept compromises," Hui said. Veteran actor Andy Lau holds up his new movie about a drug lord's downfall, "Protege," as an example of the kind of diversity possible in China-oriented movies. Despite its subject matter, the movie was cleared by Chinese censors, but Lau said: "We changed it to an ethically inspiring movie about the kind of disaster drugs inflict upon people. We convey in every scene that using drugs is wrong." Filmmakers also say money-minded Hong Kong movie investors have always practiced self-censorship. "When it comes to movies that are harshly critical of the government, tell me, how many Hong Kong movies have very political topics?" Kwan asked. Hui said in the 1970s and '80s, Hong Kong investors considered love stories risky unless they featured big stars. And producer Andre Morgan maintains that the harshness of Chinese censors is overstated. "I'm just kind of bored with all of this nonsense I read in the Western press and even the Asian English-language press that makes the censors out to be these mysterious bad guys you can't deal with. This is not accurate," he said. Despite the greater effort to cater to mainland Chinese tastes, the ultraviolent, fast-paced gangster thrillers that harken back to Woo still remain. Director Johnnie To has continued Woo's legacy with his gang movies, "Election" and "Election 2." Yau Nai-hoi, who wrote the two To movies, said it's still possible to make distinctive local movies as long as filmmakers budget according to expected returns. "It's about the math," he said. Pfeiffer said Hong Kong stars, directors and writers who work in China still apply their unique brand of creativity to Chinese projects. "Yes, if you're shooting in China you have to play by the censorship rules there, but in any case, it still will have the look and feel of Hong Kong picture," he said.
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