BOOK REVIEW: HONG KONG NEW WAVE CINEMA, 1978-2000

Hong Kong cinema's rise to worldwide recognition and influence

HONG KONG NEW WAVE CINEMA, 1978-2000 by Pak Tong Cheuk. Intellect Books, Bristol, United Kingdom, www.intellectbooks.com/U. of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2008. 262 pages. $40.00 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-84150-148-2. filmography, bibliography.

In the 1960s, Hong Kong films failed to achieve the international notoriety, critical notice, or box-office success of films from Taiwan or mainland China. There was neither the filmmaking professionalism or skills nor public receptivity for such films. At the time, the young generation had a "weak sense of nationhood and held neither long-term goals nor ambitions." With Hong Kong society "suffused with Western popular culture" mainly from the Western education that was given in the schools, Hong Kong films were largely imitations of Western films with respect to themes, characters, and style. Films were youth-oriented; and they dealt with drugs, antisocial behavior, relationships, and other issues especially of interest to adolescents.

By the 1970s and '80s, however, the status of Hong Kong films had changed so they were recognized as being incomparably more skilled and imaginative and more engaged with both regional and global issues than other Chinese films. With only a weak identity and superficial assimilation of Western culture, in these decades Hong Kong directors were able to easily, quickly, and fluently move to a new way of making films. The close-knit body of directors in the small area of Hong Kong, many of them having gained experience in the field of Hong Kong television, found inspiration in the French "New Wave" film movement. Highly technically skilled so they could produce zoom-ins, split-screens, fast-paced editing, and other state-of-the-art techniques and having the artistic vision and business acumen to join together the Cantonese and Mandarin branches of Chinese film giving their films access to a much wider audience (Singapore and Malaysia, for instance), the Hong Kong moviemakers struck out on a path taking them to the head of Chinese films. The Hong Kong films arising from the New Wave not only attracted attention as a compelling regional phenomenon, but they also had an influence on Western filmmakers regarding storytelling, characterization, tone, and other areas of film. The Hong Kong films found an enthusiastic Western audience. Bruce Lee, notably, "wrought miracles for Hong Kong cinema."

Cheuk, associate professor in film and TV studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, points to the 1978 film "The Extra" made by the team of Yim Ho, Dennis Yu, and Ronnie Yu as "the beginning of the New Wave." Yim Ho is one of the six "core" New Wave directors whose themes, style, development, and influence are studied individually. The others are Ann Hui, Tsui Hark, Patrick Tam, Allen Fong, and Alex Cheuk. Six "non-core" directors are grouped for study in other chapters. The filmography of each including screenwriters, producers, and production company is useful for further study of any one of the directors.

The content divided between the background and development of Hong Kong New Wave cinema and critical appraisals of central directors plus author Cheuk's nuanced comprehension from proximity to the subject make the work of particular interest to students of contemporary cinema.