Why Jacob Cheung’s Cageman and Intimates became Hong Kong director’s most memorable films

Hong Kong director Jacob Cheung Chi-leung has long been celebrated for his sensitive approach to local social dramas. Below, we look back at two of his most memorable works: the award-winning socio-realistic comedy Cageman (1992) and the sweeping lesbian romance Intimates (1997).

Cageman

Cageman was an unexpected hit upon its release in 1992. Its success was especially surprising as it was a social-realist drama arriving at a time when the industry was busy churning out flashy commercial movies.

Cheung’s feature, which zooms in on the lives of Hong Kong’s “cagemen” – men who lived in crowded hostels on bunk beds separated by chicken wire – won four awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1993. It is a truly exceptional drama that leavens its social observations with the quiet humour and gentleness that the director is known for.

“One cannot help but admire the film’s spirit and the filmmakers’ courage in dealing with a topic so far removed from the current trends in local cinema,” wrote Paul Fonoroff in his South China Morning Post review in 1992. “Cageman is that rarity of rarities: a socio-realistic comedy, a genre little seen in the past two decades outside RTHK dramas.”

Co-written by Cheung, the ensemble piece centres on a large group of men – including Roy Chiao Hung, Ku Feng and Teddy Robin Kwan Wai-pang – who live in “cages” inside a decrepit hostel. The long-term residents have transformed the space into a functional community; despite arguments and rivalries, the men generally act kindly and look after one another.

The applecart is upset when the building’s owner decides to evict the men and redevelop the premises, refusing to offer them adequate compensation. Two district councillors ostensibly take the men’s side, but one is in league with the developers and the other treats the situation as a photo op.

The “cagemen” are finally carried outside, still inside their cages, and dumped on the street. A thought-provoking epilogue sees some of the characters turn up at a zoo, where they stare at monkeys confined behind bars.

Although the art directors created realistic-looking squalor – the film was shot almost entirely inside the hostel – Cheung avoided a depressing documentary style, aiming instead for light drama. It is a skilful piece of filmmaking that depicts these problems without doom or melodrama.