In the world of Hong Kong films, filmmakers react to the liminal space that Hong Kong inhabits. In the 1970s, when The Big Boss and Drunken Master were released, the film seemed to be focused on the aspects of traditional life, while attaining traditional values. However, in A Better Tomorrow and Fallen Angels grapple with Hong Kong’s transition into a metropolis, but in contrast to the traditional ideals that punctuated it’s past. The ‘new’ Hong Kong becomes a battle for traditional ideals in a modernizing environment. The conflict between modernism and tradition is evident in each of these films, where characters attempt to understand where they fit in a variety of liminal spaces including Hong Kong.
In The Big Boss, Bruce Lee’s character, Cheng Chao-an, arrives in Thailand to begin work at an ice factory. He soon finds himself in trouble when he is at odds with the boss of the ice factory and local drug lord. In the beginning of the film, Cheng wears a necklace around his neck that his mother gave him before her death, promising her that he will not fight. This promise between Cheng and his mother shows how strongly the familial connections in traditional society were, since Cheng refuses to fight even when he is punched in the face. Also the connections that Cheng has with the rest of his extended family show the adopted cultural norms since that call each other brother. During the film, Cheng is promoted while his friends go missing and the influence of materialism and capitalism is clearly shown. The boss gets Cheng drunk on both alcohol and power, when Cheng is promoted to the foreman of the factory. However, when Cheng’s family is murdered and Chiao Mei is kidnapped, he understands that he must avenge their deaths and prove his loyalty to Chiao Mei. Cheng must realize that loyalty and family are both important and that he must avenge for both in the end. While not set in Hong Kong, The Big Boss explores the traditions of Hong Kong and China, while placing them in another country.
In Drunken Master, Jackie Chan’s character, Wong Fei-hung, begins the film as a trickster who plays pranks on the village people. These pranks force him to undergo training from a renown master of kung fu to learn discipline. Wong must focuses on relationships between family and seniority to elders to get a beginning in understanding a more traditional outlook. In the film, Wong must master several forms of kung fu to become a master and these techniques are shown in a traditional book that the master carries with him. On other side, there is the hit man known as Thunderleg who receives his assignments in the ruins of a home. Thunderleg represents the modernization of Hong Kong through his use of force with little thought of the effects of his actions. He is purely a assassin for the money, he does not figure his conscience into his actions. When Thunderleg and Wong engage in a fight, Thunderleg degrades Wong by berating his father’s style of kung fu during the fight. As Wong is losing the fight, he hides under the family alter in the ruins. This shot in the shows how Wong is almost hiding behind his ancestors from Thunderleg. Also the use of the destroyed house as Thunderleg’s headquarters shows how capitalism will destroy others homes. Wong leaves the fight in shame, having been stripped of his clothes and defeated when he used his father’s kung fu. In the end of the film, Wong must save and avenge his father from Thunderleg using the traditional forms of kung fu that the master taught him. By the end of the film, Wong understands that the value of tradition and family, but also the uses of shame to help motivate him in the fight against Thunderleg who threatens his family.
In A Better Tomorrow, Hong Kong films began their transformation from rural villages with kung-fu to the modern skyscrapers of Hong Kong with guns rather than fists. This change of location responds to the view of Hong Kong that would resonate with viewers. This new Hong Kong has accepted capitalism and these new films show how traditional values such as loyalty, family, and shame are accepted and perceived in the new modern environment. A Better Tomorrow explores leadership of a Hong Kong triad and the relationships between families. One of the conflicts is between Ho and Kit, brothers of opposite sides of the law from each other. In film, after being attacked, Kit’s father tells him to forgive his brother. Kit holds the grudge against his brother for being part of the triad, since he cannot advance in his career and stay in favor in his adopted family, the police force. The conflict between adopted and biological families and loyalty was clearly defined by the relationships. When Shing becomes head of the organization, he is not loyal to Ho, his mentor. Shing’s lack of loyalty forces him to be the villain in the film, when all the relationships are based on the need for loyalty and familial obligations, adopted or biological. Also Shing’s lack of loyalty to Ho and Mark shows the possible new modern viewpoint counter to the more traditional values that Ho and Mark hold. Kit is also portrayed in a slightly different light since he picks justice and adopted family over his biological family. Finally, when Mark dies he dies a hero’s death since he was wronged and finally got his family and confidence back. The film reflects on the end of traditional values, represented by Mark and his death may even represent how traditional values have been crippled, but will eventually die a valiant hero death in the modern world.
In the final film, Fallen Angels, the viewer observes various characters traverse Hong Kong at night. The Killer is similar to Thunderleg, kills people with very little consideration for morality, while his partner gets the situations ready and secretly pines for him. As they continue to plan and kill people, another character known as He enters businesses at night and harasses would be customers. The relationships between the characters are all strained with voice overs expressing their true feelings. The lack of communication in the film serves as the response to A Better Tomorrow and the death of traditional values in the modern world. With little values to hold them back the characters, do what they want. As the killer dies at the end of the film, the viewer hears the voice over of him, beginning to say that he wanted to start making his own choices. This sentiment is quickly betrayed by his partner who had killed when he admitted that he wanted to quit. The film seems to come with belief that keep oneself separate from others helps to minimize the pain felt.
In each of the films, the viewers explores the relationships between formal and informal families and relationships. The use of family and traditional values were evident in the first two films, but as the films began to explore the modernization of Hong Kong, the relationships in general became more fragmented. As Hong Kong has become more modern, the characters in the films have had less strong connections to others. The use of traditional values have may have died just as Mark did a heroic, but tragic death during modernization.
