Ross Chen started LoveHKFilm.com in 2002 “with the sole purpose of taking up web space with yet another Hong Kong Cinema web site.” But since then, it’s become one of the leading websites for reviews of Hong Kong films and is a great source of information for anyone who wants to learn more about Asian cinema in general. Chen’s site reflects his interest in the HK film scene’s great variety of output – not just the “wire-fu” epics and gangster thrillers that American audiences have been exposed to. The ‘90s saw the Hollywood importation of actors like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-Fat; directors such as John Woo and Hark Tsui; and movies that were re-dubbed, re-edited, and given hip hop soundtracks. But as a result, U.S. cinephiles may not realize the full range of what Hong Kong film has to offer. LoveHKFilm.com is a great place to start learning. We talked to Chen about his own experiences discovering Hong Kong cinema.
When did you first discover Hong Kong cinema?
I didn’t start really devouring Hong Kong films until I got into college at NYU. I had rental stores where you could rent all these movies you had heard of and ones you had never, ever heard of. It was just like a playground, really. You could just say, “Oh, I want to see all these John Woo films,” or you could get all of the Maggie Cheung films you wanted to watch, or Tony Leung, and then eventually get into Wong Kar Wai, Johnny To, and it just keeps building. You really learn about a culture and about how they make movies over there – it’s a process of discovery that’s really exciting when you get into it, because it’s so rich and there’s so much you can see.
What was it about these films that made you want to explore them further?
At the time, it was probably just that they were so different from what I was used to. Aside from the stylized action and flying swordplay, I was seeing a different culture. Obviously, my experience with it is probably different from a lot other people’s experiences. They get into it for other reasons, and a lot of them get into it because they like the action, so they keep watching all the action movies they can. And maybe they’ll eventually move on to other genres or other filmmakers. For me, it was like that, too. At the beginning, I really stuck with the action, and then as time went by I got used to other actors and wanted to see what else they were doing. I saw that, for example, Chow Yun-Fat did every type of film imaginable, all these weird comedies. It opens up a lot of things.
What’s the Hong Kong film scene like?
Its reputation now is really based on the ‘80s and the early ‘90s. The state of the cinema really moves in waves – it goes up and down. It took a real boom toward the later ‘80s with the arrival of big stars like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, and the whole type of kinetic, all-out action and the incredibly entertaining stuff they were putting out.
It really was a fast-food film industry. You had really popular stars who made eight to ten pictures a year. As a result, you had so many different types of films coming out of varying quality – there were some terrible things getting made, but then there were some really wonderful things getting made. If you make 300 films a year, there’s going to be some really good stuff in there. It’s a very pop-culture-driven scene, so whoever’s hot suddenly appears in all these films, so you really can get a peek into the culture at the same time.
It’s a little different now. It’s not doing as well as it used to. They don’t make as many films, and it’s saturated by pop idols – your Britney Spears types – which is really frustrating for some of us. That’s the way it is now, but there are still chances for certain filmmakers to emerge, ones who are better than others. It’s not much different from Hollywood, in some cases. There’s much less money, that’s for sure, but there’s the same fascination with stars and paparazzi – it’s probably worse there than it is here, if such a thing is imaginable. There is not as much schooling; here you have film schools, people studying stuff over time. Over there, most people just learn by doing, and I think that probably had an effect on how some of it has worked – there really is a gap between the expertise and what actually gets made. Maybe you’ll see a renaissance in the next few years. That’s the hope, anyway.
What are some of the current Hong Kong movies people should check out?
There’s a film called Infernal Affairs that came out two years ago that is really an example of how good a commercial film can be over there. It has two sequels and when you put them all together, it really is an enjoyable viewing experience.
The best director to look at in Hong Kong currently is probably Johnny To. For one thing, he makes like two-three films a year, which really helps you if you want to follow his work. But he encompasses all these different genres – he does romantic comedies, silly comedies, action pictures, thrillers. His films are also steeped in Buddhism, actually. It’s not something people up here would notice, but they have Buddhist philosophies in there, not overtly. It makes his films really interesting because if you watch them all, they have a certain flavor and style that work together. It’s not for everyone, unfortunately – some people are now starting to say, “I don’t get him anymore.” But the ironic thing is, his films are really commercial; they have big stars and are entertaining, but they have an artistic edge, too. His films are really satisfying that way – to a person like me, especially. For me, film is about more than just the movie or my two hours of time. It’s about what you can discover through it and what you can see.
