Chinese Box

Chinese Box
by Wayne Wang

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Gong Li, Jeremy Irons, Maggie Cheung, Michael Hui, Rub?n Blades
Director: Wayne Wang
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-09-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate

Movie Reviews of Chinese Box

Movie Review: Inside a Dream
Summary: 4 Stars

Wayne Wang's "The Chinese Box" was in the budget bin @ our local video store; so I took a chance. The slow-paced film produces some excellent delights. Jeremy Irons who won his Oscar for "Reversal of Fortune" in 1980 plays John, a British citizen living in Hong Kong right before the turnover of control to the Chinese. As John, Irons is expressive in an unrequited love for Vivian. He deals with his serious medical condition and says goodbye to that which he loves most dearly. Gong Li is elegant as Vivian. She expresses so much with a look from her eyes. Li has won four major acting awards which are the Volpi Cup for Best Actress from the Venice International Film Festival for "The Story of Qiu Ju" in 1992, a supporting award from the New York Film Critics Circle for "Farewell My Concubine" in 1993, Best Actress from the Montreal World Film Festival for "Piaoliang Mama," & a support award in 2005 from the National Board of Review for "Memoirs of a Geisha." Vivian's boyfriend Chang owns a bar & refuses to marry her. Michael Hui is not the most of attractive of men; so one wonders why Vivian stays in the relationship. Maggie Cheung won a Best Actress award in 1988 from the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival for "Full Moon in New York," she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress in 1992 for "Center Stage" from the Berlin International Film Festival, was nominated for Best Actress for Hero in 2002 by Hong Kong Film Awards & won the Best Actress award for "Clean" from the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Neither Gong Li nor Maggie Cheung have ever been nominated for an Oscar, which is surprising. As Jean, she roams Hong Kong with a walkman, a chip on her shoulder & a prominent facial scar. As we learn her story, we question her mental stability, but also see how people can live inside their dreams. It is a powerful performance. As Jim, Ruben Blades plays guitar and comes to stay with John periodically depending on the ups & downs of his love life. "The Chinese Box" is a slow lyrical film, but I found it moving with great visuals from Hong Kong. Enjoy!

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Summary of Chinese Box

Set during the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong in 1997, this fascinating film uses that urgent and grandly ceremonial political backdrop for an intimate study of personal transition. Jeremy Irons plays a seasoned journalist who discovers he is terminally ill, causing him to be torn between his obsessive love for a former prostitute (Chinese film star Li Gong) and a streetwise hustler (Maggie Cheung) whom he has chosen as the subject of a video documentary. Through his involvement in the lives of these two very different women, director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) creates a cinematic "love-hate letter" to his native Hong Kong, where each character is allegorical and suffers an identity crisis much like Hong Kong itself. The film's love story is somewhat aimless and ultimately unimportant, but Chinese Box (even the title suggests a place that holds secrets within its borders) remains a fascinating film in the semi-documentary tradition, capturing the psychology of its time and place with compelling immediacy. Musician/actor/politician Ruben Blades is featured in a memorable supporting role. --Jeff Shannon

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