| Chinese Box (1998)
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| Front Cover |
Actor |
Back Cover |
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| Jeremy Irons |
John
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| Li Gong |
Vivian
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| Ruben Blades |
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| Gong Li |
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| Maggie Cheung |
Jean
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| Michael Hui |
Chang
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| Rubén Blades |
Jim
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| Jared Harris |
William
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| Chaplin Chang |
Homeless Man
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| Noel Rands |
John's Friend at New Year's Party
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| Emma Lucia |
Amanda Everheart
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| Ken Bennett |
Rick
|
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| Plot |
| Set during the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong in 1997, this fascinating film uses that urgent and grandly ceremonial political backdrop for an intimate study of personal transition. Jeremy Irons plays a seasoned journalist who discovers he is terminally ill, causing him to be torn between his obsessive love for a former prostitute (Chinese film star Li Gong) and a streetwise hustler (Maggie Cheung) whom he has chosen as the subject of a video documentary. Through his involvement in the lives of these two very different women, director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) creates a cinematic "love-hate letter" to his native Hong Kong, where each character is allegorical and suffers an identity crisis much like Hong Kong itself. The film's love story is somewhat aimless and ultimately unimportant, but Chinese Box (even the title suggests a place that holds secrets within its borders) remains a fascinating film in the semi-documentary tradition, capturing the psychology of its time and place with compelling immediacy. Musician/actor/politician Ruben Blades is featured in a memorable supporting role. --Jeff Shannon |
| Movie Details |
| Genre |
Drama; Romance |
| Director |
Wayne Wang |
| Producer |
Lydia Dean Pilcher; Wayne Wang |
| Writer |
Jean-Claude Carrière; Larry Gross |
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| Studio |
Lion's Gate |
| Country |
France
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| Language |
English |
| Audience Rating |
R |
| Running Time |
99 mins |
| Movie Release Date |
4/17/1998 |
| Color |
Color |
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| Personal Details |
| Format |
DVD |
| Seen It |
No |
| Index |
503 |
| Collection Status |
In Collection |
| Purchase Date |
8/11/2005 |
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| Product Details |
| Region |
Region |
| Screen Ratio |
 Standard 1.33:1 Color |
| Layers |
Single Side, Single Layer |
| UPC (Barcode) |
031398685937 |
| Chapters |
24 |
| Release Date |
9/29/1998 |
| Subtitles |
Spanish; French |
| Packaging |
Keep Case |
| Audio Tracks |
 ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC] |
| Nr of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
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Extra Features
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| Color Closed-captioned Dolby Widescreen |
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