SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

evening1 I enjoyed this impressionistic portrait of a man who is always searching and documenting, and who triggers the same impulse in the two very different women he pursues.The camera loves its four main characters -- stunning Gong Li, a mellowing Jeremy Irons, Maggie Cheung (an interesting actress I'd never seen previously), and in-your-face Hong Kong during its 1997 handover.We follow the pursuits of John, who is destined to die within six months from leukemia, as he makes a last-ditch effort to win over Vivian, who wastes herself on a wealthy businessman too ashamed of her to marry her. At the same time, he attempts to understand the life of Jean, an incest survivor who in the course of John's intervention gradually stops hiding a large facial scar.Many questions are left unanswered by the time John's camera trails off. This is part of what I like about the film. Where has John come from and what is the trauma that he has fled? Why does Vivian have to act like someone she is not just to be able to kiss John? Why does John's mouth avoid Vivian's when he's finally about to embrace her...as if their kiss is ultimately taboo? The movie won't answer our questions but challenges us to just keep on pondering them. It leaves a pleasant if not indelible impression. Like Hong Kong's transition, only time will tell what it has meant.

yc955 Jeremy Iron, Ruben, Maggie are fantastic in the movie. Gong Li worked hard at it. She's got the look but I have to hold my breath every time she tries to act... It's quite exhausting to watch her act in this role. Hope it's just me.But the story writing fits perfectly with the title "China Box". You have to have enough background knowledge and sensibility to appreciate it. The movie never falls into the cliché of east-meets-the-west. Instead, it uses the historical sea-change in Hong Kong as the back drop, as the grand orchestra accompanying the extraordinary solo of the age old story of love, a man and a woman. Nothing is obvious, and nothing gives away in the middle and the tension keeps building till the very last moment. I first saw the movie when it came out in theater. But 10 years later I saw it again on tape, it blew me away like no other. I'd give it a 10 if not for the rather limited acting skill from Gong Li. There's got to be someone else out there among the 1.3 billion who can really act. Maggie can act but she certainly falls short in her natural beauty for this role, in comparison to Gong Li. One other thing I thought was bit of a drag is Maggie's almost perfect English. I thought a character from the very bottom of Hong Kong society with limited education probably would be more convincing if she has more local accent. That's my past experience with folks from Hong Kong. Only those from the privileged the class in Hong Kong would speak like her in the movie... I am so disappointed by the featured review on IMDb here. Because in the past this web site has consistently picked a more sensible review for other movies I ran into. I felt rather compelled to write something to clear the bad rap of this great movie, as much as I can. For those who cares, Maggie Cheung was in another great movie "In the Mood for Love" (2000). But that movie was more limited in scope and more nuanced in its presentation, a more oriental romance. This movie clearly more European is breadth and depth in its attempt. Some might find the political overtone - a rather negative focus on the 1997 handover (suicide, etc), a bit predictable and cliché. But in this particular movie it does set the mood for the over all theme of the movie - after all, this is a rather a sad romance. No happy endings for any one. Only human spirit triumph. For that, I thought the movie title is a bit off actually. IMHO, China Box is only a clever device that is seemingly simple but capable of endless intrigue and twist. That title would be much more fit for a thriller. This one I thought is more about the ultimate triumph of the unyielding human spirit for truth, for real meaning, and for love as the word originally meant, overcoming all odds, even the limitation of one's unavoidable mortality.It's a master piece.

endlessrain The players in this film, Ironsd, Li and Cheung, all have symbolic roles.Gong Li represents Hong Kong. She is a whore that every man wants.As someone even says in the film; "Hong Kong is a whore and now it has a new pimp".Irons represents, of course, Britain, and doesn't have long left, symbolized by his having cancer. Irons tries to win over Li, but to no avail. The handover is happening and nothing can stop it.Maggie Cheung (in a great and convincing performance) is the jilted lover, the part of Hong Kong that has been tricked by Britain's promises of democracy and a western way of life.When Maggie meets her former lover, the Brit doesn't even remember her... it is a poignant and believable moment.Irons is a bit flat but Gong Li is a simmering sex goddess. Perfect for her allegorical role.

rosscinema I remember how excited I was when I first viewed "The Year of Living Dangerously" and watching the main characters in Indonesia just before the Vietnam War broke out. This is nowhere near that but I did come away thinking that this is a very personal film about the change in Hong Kong. Story does take place in Hong Kong during the last 6 months of British colonialism and the central character is John (Jeremy Irons) who is a writer and roams the city with his video camera capturing different things that go on but he is madly in love with Vivian (Gong Li) who owns a bar but has a sordid past that looms over them. John has been feeling ill and gets checked out and learns that he has leukemia and has 3 to 6 months to live.*****SPOILER ALERT*****John continues to wander the streets and he meets Jean (Maggie Cheung) who has a bad scar on her face and she sells knick knacks on the street and John becomes fascinated by her. As time dwindles down John must face the fact that changes are inevitable and the people of Hong Kong will go on without him.This film is directed by Wayne Wang who has made a good career out of making films about Asians and the way they live despite cultural differences. But while I think there are some interesting things in this film it's clearly not one of Wang's best. Film tries very hard to be thought provoking in it's overall message with the characters but it just seems to come off as ponderous. As talented as Iron's and Li are they seem a bit uninspired and the rare bursts of energy just lack any conviction. The most interesting character in the film is Jean played by Cheung and she easily steals every scene she's in and her character shows obvious layers of pain that she hides well despite the scar on her face. Cheung is a Hong Kong action star but she shows she can easily handle drama and I hope someone writes her a good script to be in. The story meanders and doesn't really have any focus in it's message and even though Wang is a good director it just comes across as lacking emotional depth.