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SCMP Reporter

The filming of Wayne Wang's latest movie, Chinese Box, has been a series of revelations for both Wang and his cast - much like the mysterious Pandora's Box from which it draws its name.

  'Different things happen every day. Each day we meet people with different opinions,' Wang said yesterday.

  It was the first public appearance for Wang and his cast since shooting started last month.

  And there are some top names in the line-up, including British actor Jeremy Irons, mainland actress Gong Li, comedian and Selection Committee member Michael Hui Koon-man, and the award-winning Maggie Cheung Man-yuk.

  Chinese Box is based on a love triangle between financial journalist John Spencer (Irons), karaoke bar owner Vivian (Gong) who is involved with society figure Chang (Hui), and a street-wise Hong Kong woman (Cheung).

  The impending handover forms the backdrop for the cross-cultural love story.

  The story ends on June 30, 1997, with the end of British sovereignty in Hong Kong.

  In an effort to capture the last six months before the handover as realistically as possible, Wang has been continuously amending the script.

  'We're changing it every day to get the texture of Hong Kong in these last six months.

  'We do not have an ending yet; we're still feeling [our way] as we go,' the Hong Kong-born film-maker said.

  'I feel a lot of pressure working with [the actors]. Most of the time I don't know what I'm doing every day but I have decided to trust my instincts.'   It will not be the first time that Wang has 'ad-libbed' his way through a film.

  During the filming of Smoke, it was decided that they would film a sequel Blue In The Face almost concurrently, even though a script had not yet been prepared.

  'Smoke was a very scripted and rehearsed movie; Blue In The Face was more impromptu. I would say Chinese Box is a cross between the two,' Wang said.

  'We have a script - the love story itself will not be changing - but we will be drawing on life in Hong Kong in the next few months.

  'It's a very good love story, which is happening in a special place at a very special time.

  'There are very few cities in the world that are experiencing so many changes at the moment.'   The appeal of working with such an experimental method was one of the main attractions for Irons.

  For his role, Irons is required to carry a video camera around to shoot his own impressions of the territory.

  'It's very exciting for me. Wayne's the kind of director who . . . I mean, if you're a great player of any sport, you never know what the next shot is going to be.

  'You've got to prepare the technique, knock it back, make it an interesting shot, a great shot,' said Irons, who was last seen on Hong Kong screens in Stealing Beauty.

  'Most directors have a set idea of what they want to do by the time they start shooting. Wayne's not doing that.

  'It's exciting and scary, and we have the possibility of making a very interesting film that is organic to the times,' Irons said.

  'We're constantly talking to people and meeting people, and waiting to see what story will evolve.

  'As you get older, you want to be scared. One of the reasons I'm here is for that. If it works, it would be interesting because we will be mirroring a specific time for a specific place.'   For the recently-wed Gong, Chinese Box will be her first appearance in an international film although her other films by mainland director Zhang Yimou have achieved an impressive following overseas.

  Like Irons, the unpredictability of the shooting is proving to be one of Gong's biggest challenges, besides her hesitancy in the use of English.

  'Most things, especially the script, are fixed when you're working with mainland directors. But here [Chinese Box] sometimes you reach a part and the director says it might be better to make some changes. So we discuss the possibilities and make suggestions.

  'It's a new challenge not knowing what I will be filmed over the next two days. I like that unpredictability,' she said in Putonghua.

  Gong, who has hired an English tutor to help her improve her limited grasp of English, talks to Irons through an interpreter.

  Neither star feels that the language barrier represents a big problem.

  'I think when you're working with good actors, which I have had the privilege of doing a few times, language is not that important,' Irons said.

  'I think Gong Li is one of the world's greatest actresses and the fact that she is not internationally known is just a matter of the language.'   For Gong, the role has gone a long way towards boosting her self-confidence.

  'I used to think my English would hinder me. And I was very nervous because I was afraid that if I had to worry about speaking the language, I would not be able to concentrate on acting.

  'Now I feel that I can hold up to that pressure. Wayne is a very good director who gives me a lot of confidence,' she said.

  'I talk to Wayne and Jeremy with the help of an interpreter, which is good because I am learning English and Jeremy is learning a little Chinese.'   If nothing else, Chinese Box is a reflection of the multi-lingual society that makes up the territory's denizens.

  Iron's character, Spencer, understands a little Putonghua, while Vivian speaks limited English and converses mainly in Putonghua.

  'In the film, you will find Michael talking in Putonghua and then switching to Cantonese mid-sentence but that is OK. That's what I love about Hong Kong,' enthused Wang.

  'There are so many languages spoken here. It is so much a texture of the Hong Kong society.'   For Wang, the Chinese Box - or a movie set against the Hong Kong backdrop before the handover - is a five-year dream come true. However, the director says he stops short of making any kind of political statement in his movie.

  'Basically, it is a love story between a Chinese and a Brit. The film is what happens to Hong Kong during the handover.

  'It doesn't make a political statement; I'm just trying to make a truthful film,' Wang added.

  The death of Chinese patriarch Deng Xiaoping last week has not made much of an impact on the film, the director said, other than for a scene which incorporated a newspaper headline announcing Deng's demise.

  'But it wasn't put in as a political statement. I'm not that interested in big symbolic meanings,' said Wang, who last worked in Hong Kong in 1989, filming Eat A Bowl Of Tea.

  Irons, however, conceded that people, critics in particular, would see a symbolic level in the film.

  'I believe the film works on different levels and naturally there would be a symbolic one there. I am English, Jean [Maggie Cheung] is not; she's very Hong Kong. And Gong Li is Chinese. For the English who have never understood China, there's a bit of me there,' he added.

  However, Irons admitted to turning into a bit of a China-watcher since he took on the role.

  'Other than the four weeks I spent filming in Beijing, I knew nothing at all about Asia. Now with the experience of working in Asia, reading about China and thinking about China, it has obviously increased my appetite to know more,' he said.

  'I don't think all that much is changing right now. I think it all happened 10 years ago. Anyway, I think China is already here. It might start changing after July 1.'   Wang intends to wrap up filming in Hong Kong in early March but hopes to return in late June to film parts of the handover. But a shortage of accommodation may put paid to that.

  Chinese Box is expected to be released at the end of the year.

  Although there have been fears the film may present Hong Kong and China to the world from a very Western perspective, Wang insists his cast will keep that in check.

  'Maggie, Gong Li and Michael have a lot of opinions about how their characters should be,' Wang laughed.

  'Each actor has brought to the roles their own perspective. We're trying to look at Hong Kong from as many perspectives as we can . . . I think our cast represents a good cross-section of the people who have lived here for some time.' 



Going with the flow