Made in Hong Kong (1997)

Tender, Charming, Funny, and Altogether Moving

The Best Film prize that this won in the Hong Kong Film Awards was entirely deserved, as was every word of praise it received in the Western Press. It's fresh, original, and sincere, while also imparting a terrific sense of the grittiness of a street kid's life in 90's Hong Kong. Best of all, it has real heart. The characters were conceived with a feeling so true that it translates to the viewer in ways at once tender, charming, funny and, alas, sad.

For instance, the male lead's love for the pretty, pixie, teenage girl is adorable since he says all the goofy things to court her that we'd imagine a sweet, yet word-addled, high school dropout saying to his crush (eg, he looks at her manicure the first time he asks her out, and defiantly says, "Who do you think you are, Madonna?"). Yet we no sooner laugh at his clumsy pickup line than we're aching for him as he struggles to come up with cash for her life-or-death kidney surgery. The stakes are high, and this is signaled in a standout scene of the 2 teens -- each deep in the throes of first love -- joyously kissing in a cemetery.

I was equally touched watching the lead take care of a large, but slow-witted, boy whose family had abandoned him. There's a tenderness in how the small, skinny, clever lead cares for his big, dumb sidekick that's just beautiful. Indeed, it has echoes of Lenny and George from "Of Mice and Men." And without giving spoilers I can say that this film, like that novel, kicks you in the stomach at the end. But the journey toward that ending is well worth it because the emotions are earned, and nothing felt false or contrived.

"Made In Hong Kong," was completed for a mere eighty thousand dollars, but had me more emotionally invested than any hundred million dollar Hollywood Blockbuster where each star's individual paycheck is fifty times that of this film's entire budget. Indeed, the actors in this were all virtually unknown novices at the time (Sam Lee, the lead, went on to have an impressive career). This makes it all the more impressive that the actors put in such ace performances evoking their characters' innocence, confusion, and love for each other.

Lastly, do not be fooled by the small number of viewers, nor the low rating on this MDL page. MDL is a new site wherein people rarely visit pages for movies made over 5 years ago, and this was made 25 years ago. For a truer measure of this film's quality just google the professional critical reviews and you'll find it was highly regarded both at home in Hong Kong, and internationally.

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