Chinese Box Page #2

Synopsis: John is an English photojournalist who has spent over a decade in Hong Kong; his friend Jim often crashes in his cramped apartment. John's unrequited love is Vivian whom he aches for but has not the nerve to possess. Concurrent with England's transfer of Hong Kong back to the Chinese, John discovers that he has a rare form of leukemia and has only months to live. So John, Jim, and the disfigured proto-hippy Jean grab a digital video camera and prowl the streets, seeking to document the "real" Hong Kong one last time.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director(s): Wayne Wang
Production: Trimark
  1 win & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.3
Rotten Tomatoes:
62%
R
Year:
1997
99 min
251 Views


or you're in real trouble.

I got a lawyer here to

take you to the cleaners.

Everything has its price,

everything is for sale.

- Nobody falls in love.

- That's why we're all here.

Woman:
Ah, but love is

the most important thing.

With a lovely girl like that

and you don't fall in love,

- something's wrong with you.

- John, what are you doing?

Get up,

come on, get up.

- Are you okay?

- Are you all right?

- What's wrong?

- Funny way to fall down.

Are you all right?

- Sorry.

- Have you had a bit too much?

The conversation was so...

...boring, I fell asleep.

- Oh come on.

Money, money, money

is why you're here.

- Oh, it's why you're here as well.

- Well, I live on it, basically.

They'll be only one party

that day where the...

Are you sure

you're all right?

We better do those

tests right now.

John:
There are moments when

you see your life very clearly.

The things you've

left undone.

That time in Beijing,

we were both ready

for each other.

It seemed inevitable we

would become lovers.

And yet we let it pass.

And then it slipped away.

A toast to our deal!

To our

joint venture.

To our

great success!

Another round

of drinks?

My wife will

be pissed.

Chang,

you're still single.

Take my advice,

don't get married.

Excuse me,

closing time.

Bye.

Hi.

I've quit my job.

I'm tired of junk that

doesn't last even a day.

The stock exchange prices,

corporate earnings,

I can't...

I need something that's

not here today

and gone tomorrow.

You won't

find that in Hong Kong.

But you see,

I have.

You have?

That's why I want you

to come away with me.

I can't.

You spend

your whole life

waiting for Chang

to ask you to marry him.

And that's wrong?

Of course.

Yes.

Yes?

Why?

Because you know

in your heart,

that he's never

going to ask you.

Will you

marry me?

Thank you.

l...

I can't.

Why!

What are you

frightened of?

I'm offering you

something real.

I'm offering you

something now,

something concrete!

Don't be a coward.

Please.

John:
They say that if you're bleeding

from a broken heart,

you must get a piece of

jade and keep it close.

Then your blood

will go into the stone.

And the stone will get

into your blood.

Your blood will then

become the stone

and you will

stop bleeding.

Hi.

I've got some goodies for you.

Look at these watches.

- No, sorry.

- How about some handbags?

No, thanks.

Hey guys, Rolexes,

Cartiers, Dunhill lighters!

It's not up to me.

Come on, a bargain.

$100?

Hey boys, you want

pretty girls?

Come on.

I take you to a good place.

F*** off!

How are you

feeling, John?

Fine.

Good.

Does it hurt?

I'll live.

A bit sore

in the butt.

So, is that

test finished?

Yes. We've done

all the tests we need to.

We pretty much know

what's going on.

What is that?

I'm afraid I don't have

very good news for you.

You got a serious

problem here.

It's a form

of leukemia.

And I think it's gone

to your brain as well.

That's why you're getting

these dizzy spells and fainting.

It's not common,

but it's spreading

very quickly.

John:
How long do we

have do you think?

Doctor:

Three months, six months.

Jim:
They start to talk, the girl sort of

backing away from him,

and finally he gets her into the thing,

and then suddenly he hears,

bam, bam, bam,

on the door.

And he freaks out

and the girl is...

So you know

what happened?

Some guy escaped

from an insane asylum...

What was that?

He said there is a bomb

in the City Council.

That's why

slow traffic.

Oh f***!

I can't bear

this f***ing city.

I can't...

Is it Vivian?

John:
Just a week ago,

all I wanted

was to tell Vivian

how much I loved her.

But now I see that's

the one thing I mustn't do.

I can't offload

my illness onto her,

or Jim,

or Mary

and the kids.

I don't want the look in their

eyes to remind me I'm dying.

I wonder if I can hold out

longer than the British.

Not that I could be

described as an empire.

And anyway,

Hong Kong won't die.

It'll change maybe.

Coffee.

Coffee.

Is the coffee

any good here?

Awful.

So why come here?

Because nobody

disturbs me here.

Why are you staring?

I wasn't staring,

I was just looking at you.

Very funny.

I've never seen anyone in

Hong Kong look quite like you.

Your clothes,

your...

behavior.

I'd like to know

more about you.

What's your name?

What's yours?

John.

Jean.

Can I interview you,

Jean?

I'll pay you.

What for?

I'm interested.

I'm interested in how you...

- how you see, how you

perceive Hong Kong,

what you do here,

how you earn a living.

I don't want

to tell you.

I mean it interests

me about whether...

whether you

will be as free

when the takeover

happens,

whether you can still live

the life you have lived until now.

Listen,

what's free?

Ah.

My coffee would be

free if you paid for it.

Then I'll pay for

your coffee.

Thank you.

Can I do

an interview?

Well, actually I've got to go.

I have no time for that.

Listen, if you

change your mind

just give me a call.

I'll pay you.

It's open.

You have to be a damn

Sherpa to climb these stairs.

You moving in?

I ran into a bit

of trouble.

- Can I stay here for awhile?

- Sure.

- Thank you.

- You always do.

As a token of

my appreciation,

- Chateau Hong Kong, 1997.

- Good, very welcome.

Chateau

Hong Kong, 1997.

It's a good year,

there's no denying it.

Can I now go

to my corner?

My corner

of all time?

Yes.

Go on.

- Make yourself at home.

- Sorry.

You know,

this girl had a...

like a boyfriend,

and he got home a little

earlier than anticipated.

What are these?

Just stuff I've

been shooting

What stuff?

Stuff on the street,

you know.

Really?

Pompeii.

Yeah. Hong Kong

before July.

Pompeii

before Vesuvius.

So now you're saying that

there might be an eruption?

Might be.

- Come and look at this.

- What is this?

What is it?

Look at this girl.

Who is she?

I don't know.

She's all wrapped up,

face covered,

ears covered.

The only thing you

see are the eyes.

She's hiding.

Everybody should wear a mask

with the air quality here.

What's she

hiding from?

This is good.

Great light.

Beautiful.

Boring.

Standing on a corner

In Hong Kong

My baby was down

In Hong Kong...

F*** off!

He's making Armani suits.

Copy suits.

That's Ralph Lauren,

I think.

It's bad to be alone

In Hong Kong...

Here are shoes made.

Great little stools.

I love those stools.

You been

down too long

Worried about you, baby

You been

down too long

Hong Kong

egg foo yung

Chicken chow mein

Chop suey

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong.

Excuse me.

Shut up!

I'm doing business here!

- You want some take-out?

- I take care of foreign devils.

Stinky devils.

Shut up!

Now this one, she's beautiful.

But her temper,

I don't think you can take it.

This one...

- This one's a man.

- A man?

This one, she's gifted.

Dumb as usual.

Look at this one.

She's great.

She's half Thai,

with two babies...

very sentimental but vicious.

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Jean-Claude Carrière

Jean-Claude Carrière (French: [ka.ʁjɛʁ]; born 17 September 1931) is a French novelist, screenwriter, actor, and Academy Award honoree. He was an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud and was president of La Fémis, the French state film school. Carrière was a frequent collaborator with Luis Buñuel on the screenplays of Buñuel's late French films. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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