Made in Hong Kong (1997) User Reviews

Lost Generations of Hong Kong slums

[aleksandarsarkic · 8/10 · 28 August 2016]

"Made In Hong Kong" is one of the best movies i have watched that have come from Hong Kong. This was directorial debut of Fruit Chan and it is impressive for the first movie. This movie was made on low budget with amateur actors but it is the best thing, that made this movie to be more realistic and unique. Sam Lee is just fantastic in the role of the main character Moon, you can really feel the emotions and his expressions, and this role is just natural for him, i can really imagine him to be like that in real life, and i really like his character, he is just small thug but in heart he is good person, he was made like that because of environment in which he grew up, it is my opinion that all people are generally born good, but society and regimes made people to came on the wrong side. I also liked the relationship between Moon and Ping, it was beautifully portrayed and it reminds me of the works of Kai War Wong, it was beautiful and melancholic. I also like the end of the movie and the last sequences, i totally understands that for some people in his position, death is only solution. I will definitely watch more movies from Fruit Chan in the future.

The hope to keep up

[jandesimpson · 7/10 · 22 April 2002]

At least two famous film critics retired at a time when they felt they were no longer in step with new cinema. One was a much revered Sunday newspaper journalist in the UK who saw the writing on the wall when she could only register her loathing for "Psycho". Although I am not a professional critic and simply like to impart enthusiasm rather than condemnations through this website, I sometimes wonder if I am out of step with what a much younger generation of audiences admire. I have all but ceased going to the commercial cinema where nine out of ten offerings seem to be mindless kids' fodder delivered at a painfully high decibel level. Far too often those that my peergroup recommend, "0negin" or "The House of Mirth" for example, I find to be dreary and portentous. And so I sit through endless art house movies, many of them enervating in the extreme, just for that wonderful sense of discovery when something like "La Promesse" from Belgium or "After Life" from Japan occurs. However, I had a sobering experience the other day which has warned me not to be too dismissive of "youth appeal" films when I saw "Made in Hong Kong". First impressions were dreadful, slapdash hand-held camera stuff, washed out colours, tempo continuously at feverpitch and a plot I could barely follow - the last factor is something I recognise as a personal shortcoming if my interest is not initially aroused. I could not quite pinpoint at the time why I did not abandon there and then a film I was barely comprehending or why something afterwards tempted me to give it a second go. I was extremely glad I did as I think I achieved an insight into why such a film can work for young people. The three main characters are all so likeable. There is Moon the school dropout turned toughie, his sidekick a retard whom he protects called Sylvester and Ping the girl with a serious kidney disease whom they are both soft on. For all its violent rough cut trappings, "Made in Hong Kong" is an incredibly sentimental film about camaraderie of the "Kings Row" sort that my generation wallowed in and "Dead Poets Society" revered by the generation in between. It is that old "youth - death" thing all over again. My recognition and appreciation of this in a film initially as alien as "Made in Hong Kong" gives me hope that I can still keep in step.

Excellent film about youth in HK

[krzysiektom · 8/10 · 13 November 2019]

Decently directed and with a good script, with bitter-sweet description of the life in HK in late 1990s, elements of violence and brutality mixed with the sweetness of young friendship and love. The music choices are so so though, the soundtrack could be much better, but what can one expect with such a tiny budget. Considering it cost only about 80k USD, the film is phenomenal. Could become a cult classic with a wider distribution.

beautiful film

[damirradic14 · 4 December 2001]

One of the best films of last decade. Impressive visual style, especially cinematography and production design, despite ultra low budget. Deep emotional touch, very special atmosphere, captivating cast, simply beautiful film. This young author (director and writer) did it only with money from his cousins, friends and support from senior Hong kong moviemakers. Enthusiasm above all and remarkable accomplishment is here.

Who'd have thought a Hong Kong director would have brought danger and poetry back to the gangster movie?

[alice liddell · 9/10 · 27 October 1999]

Sluggish gangster genre revitalised by infusion of teen melodrama. One of the films of the year. The violence is, for once, sickening, immediate and real, rather than crude comedy, but interlaced with expressionistic sensibility of dead protagonist. Deeply moving on a personal level, and highly comic in spite of ultimate despair. The director's visual vocabulary is immense, with imagery of such dreamlike, poetic, evocative beauty, your heart stops.

A haunting, despairing film

[mlstein · 10/10 · 27 February 2000]

Fruit Chan's debut film was seen by many in Hong Kong as a metaphor for the foreboding that gripped the colony in the years before 1997, and Chan himself has said that it is the first part of a trilogy on the handover--the second part is "The Longest Night." Metaphorical resonances aside, though, under the energetic, sometimes violent surface of "Made in China" is a film of haunting sadness and compassion. The central character, the young, jobless Autumn Moon, is proud of his ability to live by his wits; but he ends up in a world that his wits can't handle. Chan's ingenuity in making this film on a tiny budget with amateur actors is obvious, but one leaves the film overwhelmed with sadness for the lives of the characters--most of all Autumn Moon's, and his despairing inability to help the people he cares about.

A very memorable movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 25 June 2020]

I was given the chance to sit down and watch this 1997 movie titled "Made In Hong Kong" (aka Heung Gong jai jo") in 2020, and oddly enough I hadn't actually heard about it prior to this. But being an avid fan of the Hong Kong cinema, of course I jumped at the chance to watch it when I was presented with that opportunity.

I was a little bit ambivalent about it as it had Sam Lee in the lead role. He has mostly been a low-ranked actor in my opinion, with only a single performance that was noteworthy. But I was blown aback by his performance in this movie, as it was really great and memorable. Sam Lee rose to the occasion in this movie and delivered something spectacular and this was definitely his movie from start to end.

The storyline in "Made In Hong Kong" was pretty straight forward, but at the same time writer and director Fruit Chan actually managed to keep the movie interesting and not venturing down and mediocre or predictable path. That was some accomplishment that really added to the movie.

"Made In Hong Kong" was quite an enjoyable movie, and I am rating it a six out of ten stars. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by what this movie turned out to be. If you haven't already seen "Made In Hong Kong", you definitely should take the time to do so if you have the chance.

Angry young man looking for the best things in life, he finds it to be death

[jerry-96 · 10/10 · 10 February 1999]

This is one hell of a movie and now one of my favourites, it's funny, sad, poetic, has an intriguing storyline, and some very inventive camera work. This is a debut film, a no budget film and a great film.

It tells the story of Autumn Moon and his friends, when they find two farewell letters written by a girl who just committed suicide, they decide to deliver the letters for her. They embark on a journey for the reason why she committed suicide.

I saw this movie with some friends in the cinema, some loved it, some hated it, the best thing was that most of them were touched by the ending and had red eyes from tears. See it and fall in love with this movie. I know I did...

Cheering

[christopher-underwood · 6/10 · 4 October 2020]

Noted mainly for being the last film made before the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to mainland China and one made for minimum monies using end of reel sections of film stock, the film certainly doesn't lack energy or a foreboding air of pessimism. To a local audience of youngsters, I'm sure this is a cheering, full throttle and suitably anti establishment pleasure but for me this is a bit of an effort even to follow the limited storyline and hard to take much of the light relief derived from the 'retarded' fellow traveler. The delightfully named Fruit Chan has had success in China and made many more films since this one, its just that it all seems a long way from the charm and brutality of those Hong Kong movies I encountered and managed to survive in those way off video days.

The Best Film of 1997

[Matador · 9/10 · 29 March 1999]

Despite a weak last half-hour, Fruit Chan's debut is absolutely stunning. It continues the 'new Hong Kong' visual style (strobe, overexposure, freeze-frames, and jump-cutting) that fellow director Wong-Kar Wai has pioneered in his last three films. In addition to superb cinematography and editing, the storyline also is exceptional, taking the viewer into the harsh realities of Hong Kong youth gangs. Autumn Moon, the main character, is a rare creation - both attractive and repulsive. The moment we begin to empathize with him, he pushes us away with his enormous capacity for violence. This perfect mix of tenderness and harshness push it head and shoulders above most Hong Kong cinema, not only of 1997, but of any other year as well.

The greatest Hong Kong film of 1997

[PureCinema · 10/10 · 10 January 1999]

Every once in a while you'll see a film that just makes you say "wow". After the final scene goes by, you just sit there watching as the credits go by, then the black space after the credits, then the "snow" after that, then finally the tape rewinding itself. You just continue sitting there watching the screen... dumbfounded.... you just sit there and say "wow". Made In Hong kong is one of those movies. To say that this movie blew me away would be an understatement. This movie got inside of me and changed the way I look at HK cinema, or cinema as a whole for that matter, hell... it even changed the way I look at life.

Autumn Moon is a low life thug, he and some friends discover the body of a dead girl who committed suicide, and a note she left. This dead girl that he never knew ends up teaching him more about his own life than he could by himself, and also guides him to his own fate. See this movie and experience cinema at it's best.

Bitter and Sweet

[liou · 29 April 2000]

Being half Japanese, but never having visited any other Asian places like Hong Kong, I nevertheless saw a lot of similarities between the two cultures. Take for example the energy of millions of people living next to each other. This is something I saw in Tokyo and which I recognized in this movie as well. This energy, together with the typical asian summerheat, is felt throughout the whole movie and made me both unease as well as more alert. It gives you the sense anything can happen and you have to watch out. This has everything to do with this movie, since it depicts Hongkong as a jungle where only the fittest survive. Fittest in this context means ruthless and not caring for others. The main character, a teenager and gangmember, does just this and this will prove to be fatal to him. He protects a mentally handicapped boy and falls in love with an terminally ill girl and he even offers her his kidney (which she refuses). Another similarity between the Hongkong and Japanese culture that I noticed, is the innocence and spontaneity with which the young Asians act. Europeans tend to be more serious and worry about life, whereas these guys just have fun and enjoy the moment, 'carpe diem'. This motive contrasts with the more tragic moments in the movie. Life is just like that though; it's bitter

Great Movie!

[Slasher-9 · 10/10 · 2 May 1999]

Its been a long time since I've watched some dark gritty film. The story was great. As mentioned it was very realistic. When watched, please don't expect it is the best drama nor the best comedy. It is a little of both, that's what makes it so good. This movie sure beats the hell out of the whole Young and Dangerous movies.

Oh yeah, don't expect any Hong Kong stars to show up because this was a low-budget film(not that THAT was a bad thing).

I was.....

[fool-3 · 17 April 1999]

absolutely blown away by this film. It got to me like no other film. I couldn't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. I started mourning for them, sitting there in front of the tv, watching the light went out and the sun started to set. It hurts.