Haven't seen much HK cinema action lately, perhaps because HK cinema is sliding further into the quagmire. After the Asian financial crisis, rising production costs, and general loss of inspiration, the latest depradation is bittorrenting, which means that there's little money in cinema any more, since even the DVD revenue stream is being siphoned away via TCP-IP packets. Consequently whatever money is spent has to be spent on a sure winner, the sort of banal stars-we-know-you-love-teaming-up-for-safe-romantic-comedy projects we already know and despise from the Hollywood machine. So I'm not sure there's been a movie out this year that I've actually wanted to see. If you'll excuse my obligatory must-talk-about-Stephen-Chow moment, his next effort, about a Chinese astronaut that goes into space, does sound quite fun. But it's not out until next year.
So Sally and I have had to rely largely on soap operas from that stalwart of cantonese television, TVB. Wellington's TVBI franchise faltered in 2005, but has been taken up by a shop next to the Oaks Satay Noodle House. If you're interested, the shop also sells petite Chinese women's fashions...
We got out our first series from the shop last week: CIB Files, starring people you've never heard of. Excitingly, TVB is now releasing DVD versions of their soaps with English subtitles. Until now I'd relied on Sally's running translations, which, though valiant, tendered understandably to falter when she tired of talking nonstop.
Anyhoo, CIB files is great. Most HK soap operas are kind of lame plot and character-wise, but still quite fun. CIB Files is much more rounded and sophisticated than the usual fare, and not above a bit of surreal strangeness. For example, at one stage the lead actress, Maggie Siu, has three mothers with no explanation. There's also the members of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, given to hyperbolic stunts, such as swinging in on drain pipes (true!) to catch crims, kicking down doors at the slightest provocation, and executing gratuitous forward rolls. They also don't talk to one another, but shout; and they prefer not to walk, but march - even within Police HQ. Then there's the head of CIB, who sports a ridiculous combover, a strip of hair that slides down his forehead towards his ear, leaving much bare real estate above, thus fooling no one. When I first saw this, I thought 'there'll be some gags about this coming up', but in the entire show, no one once comments on it. It's a smart show that provides viewers with a visual gag and trusts that they'll get it without having to hammer it home.
As suggested by the title, CIB files is about cop stuff, but the real drama is provided by the Machiavellian machinations of two women on the staff of an HK gossip magazine. The twists and turns were entertaining. Equally satisfying are the subtle character observations, and the fact that almost all the minor characters had some sort of fleshed out background and motivations.
So all in all, it's kind of Gloss meets Shark in the Park, without any of the wretchedness that might entail.
CIB Files, along with the excellent Real Kung Fu (2005), also featuring Maggie Siu, gives me confidence that HK is still capable of producing decent visual fare. That said, the trend is still downhill. HK superstars (Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung) still get projects in the mainland, Taiwan, and elsewhere; and HK stunt coordinators are still greatly prized. However the HK focus of it all seems to be diminishing, being subsumed in the greater Chinese empire. It's sad, but I suppose after 1997 it was bound to happen.
At any rate, if you want to try something different, why not get out a soap opera on DVD? You'll have to pay a bond, and be prepared to watch 10x90 minute DVDs in a week, but it'll be rewarding. Just make sure it's got English subtitles!
Posted by stuart at October 29, 2006 5:56 PM