From the Queen to the Chief Executive (2001) User Reviews

Based on a true-life horrific murder, but what if the racial roles were reversed...

[safenoe · 8/10 · 7 October 2016]

This thought provoking movie from Hong Kong director Herman Yau. the title relates to the transition of Hong Kong from the UK back to China in 1997. Upon becoming a Chinese territory, Hong Kong became governed by a Chief Executive, hence the title.

The movie has multi-layered themes, the main one being the indefinite imprisonment of HK teenage prisoners pre-1997 under British colonial rule, and the pursuit of a lesser sentence if the Chief Executive could so grant. The horrific crimes that the teenage prisoners committed was based on the real-life Braemar Hill murders in HK in 1985, where two British teenagers were brutally murdered in cold blood by five Hong Kong citizens of Chinese descent.

I guess the movie didn't have time to focus on this, and it's probably more for a documentary...but it's a shame that the full force of the law that was applied to catch the brutal murderers, isn't as equally used when say people of Chinese (or Asian) descent are brutally murdered in western nations (Exhibit A: Vincent Chin murdered by white Americans in the USA). I wonder why? Why the double standard? Is there a kind of pecking order in the pursuit of justice? These are thought provoking questions, and uncomfortable ones at that.

Very good!!

[Gordon-11 · 3 February 2003]

This film is a Hong Kong film about 23 prisoners who committed serious crimes when they were under 18, and did not receive a sentence. They had to wait for the Queen of Uk to give them a definite sentence. However, some of them waited for 20 years without any news, they had to wait endlessly. Therefore a group of people volunteered to help them. In the end, their efforts were not successful.

This film is extremely emotionally intense. In so many scenes it was so touching, that it was not possible not to weep. The acting was so professional, that I really felt that the actor who played the prisoners were really inmates. All the emotions were portrayed fully, and the spectators cold easily feel what the characters were feeling at that time.

This film also explored the issue whether these inmates should be helped or not. Some argued that they have killed people, and therefore they do not deserve to be helped, while some argue that they should be given a chance to become a good person. Also, the inmates were detained indefinitely, without a date that they will be released. This violates human rights.

This film is very well balanced between both sides of the discussions, emphasising that these people had committed murders, while also emphasising that they also had human rights. The story is also very emotional, I am sure that even the toughest person will be touched. How many people are willing to help some strangers who are outcasted by the society? How many people will not discriminate against former inmates? I find the volunteers who help the inmates to fight for their human rights to be very respectable and honourable. I felt much sympathy for the inmates who had to wait indefinitely.

This film can provoke people's thoughts about these juvenile offenders. Should they be treated like a piece of rubbish, or they should be cared for and be given a chance to live a new life? For me, the answer is definitely the latter.

Powerful and moving.

[sslop · 3 September 2003]

'From The Queen To The Chief Executive'

A powerful film set in Hong Kong about a group of prisoners "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure". This law, initially intending to give the young detainees a chance to correct themselves, results in them awaiting their sentence for an indefinite period while the government passes the buck and refuses to deal with the prisoners' rights. Effectively, this means that the prisoners have little hope, never knowing when (or if) they will be released. Soon, a young woman named Yue-ling, meets Ming, one of the inmates. Yue-ling, seeing the injustice that is occuring, manages to gain the support of a local Councillor, and they fight for change. The film is multi-layered, and its characters are flawed and real. No character faces easy decisions, perhaps the most painful examples of this being the scenes of the Councillor and his young son, who he no longer has enough time for due to his commitments to helping the prisoners. This film is far more satisfying than many Hollywood films that attempt to explore similar themes, mainly because of its authenticity and realism rather than large budgets and big-name stars. A great film.

****1/2