]Synopsis[/b]
Years later, a woman narrates her personal story of the Japanese takeover of Hong Kong in 1941. She's Nam, young, attractive, daughter of a wealthy rice merchant, and prey to painful, disabling seizures. Her boyhood friend is Keung, a coolie, whose family used to have wealth; he's now impoverished, a tough kid, a leader, in love with her. Into the mix steps Fay, cool and resourceful, an actor from the north, intent on getting to Gold Mountain in the US or Australia. They form a threesome, but the day they are to leave Hong Kong, the invasion stops them. Fay must rescue Keung from collaborators, Nam falls in love with Fay, and danger awaits their next attempt to escape.

Review:
Since the Hong Kong’s cinema industry was internationally known for massively producing martial arts films, one wouldn’t probably expect that a movie about a modern war would be produced. People who have grown up watching movies from the old colony might accept to watch Hong Kong 1941 with reluctance, since most movies that have been produced in Hong Kong between the 1970s to the 1990s are not known for being intellectually challenging. After we’ve watched Hong Kong 1941, we can clearly see how wrong we were. Despite the small lack of realism, the reason why it’s worthwhile to watch this historical movie is largely because of the impressive acting.

Someone who saw many historical movies produced in Hong Kong might know that realism is not always a concern in the mentality of the producers of the old colony. Hopefully, Hong Kong 1941 is positively miles away from its counterparts, since are trying to bring realism to the movie by depicting a time when the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong during the Second World War. Besides, it is very surprising to see that the director shows us how anarchistic Hong Kong when the Japanese occupied it (well, the situation in Iraq is a little bit similar). Although the script does give a nice occasion to all the members of the cast to portray their characters in depth, it can’t be said that the construction of their relation between each other is logical. For instance, Chow Yun-Fat’s character hurts (without having the attention, mind you) one of his friends just to get some privilege from the Japanese, but even if he doesn’t say that he’s sorry (we can just tell that he feels sorry by the look of his eyes), it is quite hard to understand why he’s forgiven very quickly. In short, one of the main strength of the script is to show historical realism, but Hong Kong 1941 could have been more realistic if the script writer took the decision to work on the leading characters’ relation without creating long periods, naturally.

Because of our experience as movie watchers, we often have a tendency to think that since winners write History, historical movies that are produced in a victorious country might lack objectivity. In certain cases, it could be true, but to our great amusement, the movie director has taken a wise decision not to show the Japanese army as a group of monsters, because of the atrocities that were committed by some Japanese soldiers during the Second World War in Asia. Obviously, the movie doesn’t turn its back to the atrocities, but hopefully, the movie director found a very brilliant way to suggest violence through subtle scenes. It can’t be denied that Hong Kong 1941 is historically very realistic. However, the movie really put the emphasis on the shattered dreams of the leading characters and it doesn’t talk enough about the resistance against the Japanese army. Besides, it is quite annoying to see that General Kanezawa, the Japanese general who has the job to keep an eye on Hong Kong’s population, is shown as a caricature. He obviously lacks psychological dimension and he has almost made me laugh and we don’t get to see the human side of this character that takes an important place in the movie, because the movie could have been more interesting (don’t be surprised if the script writer only shows you the human side of all the Chinese and the British characters!). All that being said, Hong Kong 1941 is not really exhaustive as a History lesson, because it should be more considered as a dramatic movie with great performances rather than a historical movie.

Despite the small lack of realism, one can feel relieved to see that Leong Po Chi, the movie’s director, has done a lot of effort to pull out from the entire cast a very significant and convincing performance, which was not always the case in Hong Kong between the 1970s and the 1990s. In this movie, Chow Yun-Fat (Anna and the King ; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), as Fay, is seen before he became an international superstar known for his skills as a gunfighter (ok, this is primarily not a gunfight movie) and he shows us that he is very excellent when it is time to shift from a mood to another very quickly. Cecilia Yip (Shaolin Soccer), although she’s not very known in America, does quite a good job as Nam. That actress feels very at ease to play a woman who acts a little bit like a tomboy and she’s obviously the member of the cast who shows a lot of dramatic depth, even if all the actors are all great. Yun Sai-Kit, as General Kanezawa, obviously doesn't get a chance to show the human side of the "vilain", because the script writer has taken the decision to trap him in the mind of a character that needs to be improved in order to make the movie more interesting.

Finally, as a History lesson, Hong Kong 1941 might not be very exhaustive, even if it doesn’t lack realism, historically speaking. People who are looking for a great Saturday night entertainment movie packed with action might be very disappointed, because to appreciate this movie, one must appreciate the excellent and unforgettable performance from all the members of the very well chosen cast, especially Chow Yun-Fat, who is seen during the days before he became an international super star, Cecilia Yip and Alex Man. Besides, despite some flaws, Hong Kong 1941 is probably one of th

ont=Verdana][size=2]
Cast and crew:
Hong Kong (1983)
Length: 100 minutes
Directed by Leong Po-Chi
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Cecilia Yip, Alex Man, Paul Chun and


Years later, a woman narrates her personal story of the Japanese takeover of Hong Kong in 1941. She's Nam, young, attractive, daughter of a wealthy rice merchant, and prey to painful, disabling seizures. Her boyhood friend is Keung, a coolie, whose family used to have wealth; he's now impoverished, a tough kid, a leader, in love with her. Into the mix steps Fay, cool and resourceful, an actor from the north, intent on getting to Gold Mountain in the US or Australia. They form a threesome, but the day they are to leave Hong Kong, the invasion stops them. Fay must rescue Keung from collaborators, Nam falls in love with Fay, and danger awaits their next attempt to escape.

Since the Hong Kong’s cinema industry was internationally known for massively producing martial arts films, one wouldn’t probably expect that a movie about a modern war would be produced. People who have grown up watching movies from the old colony might accept to watch Hong Kong 1941 with reluctance, since most movies that have been produced in Hong Kong between the 1970s to the 1990s are not known for being intellectually challenging. After we’ve watched Hong Kong 1941, we can clearly see how wrong we were. Despite the small lack of realism, the reason why it’s worthwhile to watch this historical movie is largely because of the impressive acting.

Someone who saw many historical movies produced in Hong Kong might know that realism is not always a concern in the mentality of the producers of the old colony. Hopefully, Hong Kong 1941 is positively miles away from its counterparts, since are trying to bring realism to the movie by depicting a time when the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong during the Second World War. Besides, it is very surprising to see that the director shows us how anarchistic Hong Kong when the Japanese occupied it (well, the situation in Iraq is a little bit similar). Although the script does give a nice occasion to all the members of the cast to portray their characters in depth, it can’t be said that the construction of their relation between each other is logical. For instance, Chow Yun-Fat’s character hurts (without having the attention, mind you) one of his friends just to get some privilege from the Japanese, but even if he doesn’t say that he’s sorry (we can just tell that he feels sorry by the look of his eyes), it is quite hard to understand why he’s forgiven very quickly. In short, one of the main strength of the script is to show historical realism, but Hong Kong 1941 could have been more realistic if the script writer took the decision to work on the leading characters’ relation without creating long periods, naturally.

Because of our experience as movie watchers, we often have a tendency to think that since winners write History, historical movies that are produced in a victorious country might lack objectivity. In certain cases, it could be true, but to our great amusement, the movie director has taken a wise decision not to show the Japanese army as a group of monsters, because of the atrocities that were committed by some Japanese soldiers during the Second World War in Asia. Obviously, the movie doesn’t turn its back to the atrocities, but hopefully, the movie director found a very brilliant way to suggest violence through subtle scenes. It can’t be denied that Hong Kong 1941 is historically very realistic. However, the movie really put the emphasis on the shattered dreams of the leading characters and it doesn’t talk enough about the resistance against the Japanese army. Besides, it is quite annoying to see that General Kanezawa, the Japanese general who has the job to keep an eye on Hong Kong’s population, is shown as a caricature. He obviously lacks psychological dimension and he has almost made me laugh and we don’t get to see the human side of this character that takes an important place in the movie, because the movie could have been more interesting (don’t be surprised if the script writer only shows you the human side of all the Chinese and the British characters!). All that being said, Hong Kong 1941 is not really exhaustive as a History lesson, because it should be more considered as a dramatic movie with great performances rather than a historical movie.

Despite the small lack of realism, one can feel relieved to see that Leong Po Chi, the movie’s director, has done a lot of effort to pull out from the entire cast a very significant and convincing performance, which was not always the case in Hong Kong between the 1970s and the 1990s. In this movie, Chow Yun-Fat (Anna and the King ; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), as Fay, is seen before he became an international superstar known for his skills as a gunfighter (ok, this is primarily not a gunfight movie) and he shows us that he is very excellent when it is time to shift from a mood to another very quickly. Cecilia Yip (Shaolin Soccer), although she’s not very known in America, does quite a good job as Nam. That actress feels very at ease to play a woman who acts a little bit like a tomboy and she’s obviously the member of the cast who shows a lot of dramatic depth, even if all the actors are all great. Yun Sai-Kit, as General Kanezawa, obviously doesn't get a chance to show the human side of the "vilain", because the script writer has taken the decision to trap him in the mind of a character that needs to be improved in order to make the movie more interesting.

Finally, as a History lesson, Hong Kong 1941 might not be very exhaustive, even if it doesn’t lack realism, historically speaking. People who are looking for a great Saturday night entertainment movie packed with action might be very disappointed, because to appreciate this movie, one must appreciate the excellent and unforgettable performance from all the members of the very well chosen cast, especially Chow Yun-Fat, who is seen during the days before he became an international super star, Cecilia Yip and Alex Man. Besides, despite some flaws, Hong Kong 1941 is probably one of the most powerful dramas from Hong Kong, because it also deals very brilliantly with two themes that concern all of us: friendship and sacrifice.

Users' Average Movie Rating: Not rated yet.
Movie Review Rating: 0 out of 0 members agree with this review.

Do you agree with this review? Yes No

Your rating:	0 - Avoid it all cost
	0.5
	1
	1.5
	2
	2.5
	3 - Acceptable
	3.5
	4
	4.5
	5 - A masterpiece

Please login to add a comment.