Cinespot : Hong Kong Cinema 2002

Hong Kong Cinema 2002

Foreword

While the market of Hong Kong cinema is declining, there were still some good movies coming out in 2002. In this article, I'll bring you a brief summary of Hong Kong cienma in 2002, introducing some movies that are worth to watch, and some you should absolutely avoid.

The selections are based on my personal preference, and only movies that have received a theatrical run or are released on VCD/DVD are included. One of the year's most promising features, Runaway Pistol, is not included, as I haven't got any chance to watch it yet.

Best of 2002

Infernal Affairs
Eye, The
Hollywood Hong Kong
Just One Look
Three: Going Home
Summer Breeze of Love
Hero
Golden Chicken
Inner Senses

A noticeable trend of the 2002 Hong Kong film market was the revival of horror genre, which could be attributed to the success of Inner Senses and The Eye in the first season of the year. Both films are well produced. They make us aware that domestic horror genre still has rooms for further development. This trend was carried on by Peter Chan's Three: Going Home. What should not be neglected is the outstanding performance by Leon Lai, for which he also won the best actor award at the Golden Horse Film Award ceremony in Taiwan. Hollywood Hong Kong, Golden Chicken and Just One Look are three medium budget movies that actually reflect the genuine life of Hong Kong people. If you want to learn more about the local cultures, you shouldn't miss these three. Summer Breeze of Love was a surprise. Despite its idol cast which may scare some serious movie fans away, it is few of its kind that can successfully depict the life of teenagers in Hong Kong in a realistic sense. As for the two blockbusters of the year, Infernal Affairs and Hero, I don't think further introduction is needed. Without doubt, the story of Hero contains some flaws, yet with the strong visual designs and extravagant cast, it is still worth to watch.

Worst of 2002

Devil Eye
Mighty Baby
Devil Face Angel Heart
Windfall Profits?
Marry a Rich Man
Wesley Mysterious File
Women From Mars
Troublesome Night 14
Troublesome Night 16

More and more medium and small film production companies were turning to digital filmmaking in 2002. While the cost of production is reduced enormously, the quality of the movie, especially the script, is also unfortunately declining. Most of the digital movies in 2002 suffer from the problem of a fragile and incomplete script and poor directorial techniques. Devil Eye, Windfall Profits?, Troublesome Night 14 and Troublesome Night 16 all fall under this category, with Devil Eye as the number one worst movie of 2002, actually it is not inappropriate to say it's the worst in the last ten years. Wesley Mysterious File and Women From Mars, both directed by Andrew Lau, contain an extremely hollow plot, both qualify as the biggest flop of the year. Although the movie was made by the same group of people, the loose and illogical plot has prevented Might Baby from surpassing its predecessor La Brassiere.

Biggest Disappointment

My Left Eye Sees Ghost
Mighty Baby
Marry a Rich Man
Wesley Mysterious File
Touch, The
Eye, The
Three

Biggest disappointment doesn't necessarily mean the movie is bad, it is just that the movie fails to meet our expectation. Johnnie To's My Left Eye Sees Ghost relies on a crucial plot twist in the ending to move the audience, but this so called "surprise" is totally not as surprised as I expected. With a sloppy script, Might Baby ruins the reputation of its acclaimed prequel La Brassiere. The Touch and Wesley Mysterious File are two big budget productions that you'd never know where the money was spent. The Eye and Three are good films, yet they were overrated by the media a lot. My advice for those who haven't seen these movies are, don't expect too much and you'll enjoy them more.

Good Films that are overlooked

Return From the Other World
If You Care...
Second Time Around
Shark Busters
Summer Breeze of Love

There are always some good movies that, for whatever reasons, are overlooked by the general audience. In 2002, there are five movies that deserve more attention than what they received. Thanks to the misleading promotions, most people would tend to believe that Return From the Other World and If You Care... are just two typical commercial movies. But in fact they are more than that. The use of cinematic language is exceptionally rich in Return From the Other World while If You Care... carries a very positive message. Second Time Around is a highly creative work. Both the director and the actors have done a good job that is more than satisfactory. The low budget Shark Busters is a very good representative of cult film of the year.

Best Actress

Angelica Lee Eye, The
Candy Lo Summer I Love You
Karena Lam Inner Senses
Zhou Xun Hollywood Hong Kong

Best Actor

Leon Lai Three: Going Home
Leslie Cheung Inner Senses
Daniel Chan Loving Him
Andy Lau Infernal Affairs
Tony Leung Infernal Affairs

Best Supporting Actress

Cherrie Ying Visible Secret 2
Rosamund Kwan Mighty Baby

Best Supporting Actor

Eric Tsang Infernal Affairs
Eric Tsang Three: Going Home
Tse Kwan-ho Possessed
Anthony Wong Demi-Haunted
Anthony Wong Just One Look
Brian Ireland Shark Busters

Worst Roles

Rain Li If You Care...
Tsui Tin-yau Summer Breeze of Love
Shu Qi Wesley Mysterious File

Rain Li's unbelievably pretentious and blatant performance in If You Care... is definitely the worst portrayal of characters in 2002. Tsui Tin-yau is supposed to play a playboy-alike character in Summer Breeze of Love, but his stony face and dry presentation of dialogues have betrayed him and made this role totally unconvincing. Shu Qi's horrible English dialogues in Wesley Mysterious File is also a blast.

written by Kantorates