Hong Kong, Hong Kong is the story of a young woman, Man Si Sun, who has arrived illegally in Hong Kong from mainland China, and Kong Yuen Sang, a young man who is a gambler and wannabe boxing champion.
This is a story of the illegal immigrant experience of people from the mainland of China who have made it to Hong Kong for a better life. The first thing you’ll notice in this Shaw Brothers film is that the city of Hong Kong is a co-star. You see the poverty stricken parts, the glamour parts. Cherie Chung plays Sun, who arrives in Hong Kong to escape. Once there she meets with a carpenter, whom she marries ostensibly so he can take care of her and become pregnant so he can have a son. However, he is middle aged and she is much more drawn to an aspiring boxer who is young like her. There is tension in this film regarding this and it is played well. Cherie Chung does very well, she had matured as an actress by then and did not need to rely solely on her beauty. She is completely believable. This is an erotically charged drama which, while not a happy film because its all about keeping yourself under the radar to avoid being deported, is good because it flows well and the characters have that sense of longing for love and redemption etched onto their faces.
Cheating Notes
The young woman starts living with an older man to escape the ghetto life. We don't see them get married but the dialog would refer to them as husband and wife. He wants her to give him a son and will give her a monthly allowance until that happens. They have sex twice in the film.
The woman dates the young aspiring boxer she earlier met in the ghetto and makes out with him.
While her live-in partner/husband is out, the woman is visited by the boxer and they have sex. The boxer has to jump out of the window when her partner comes home early.
With mild nudity.
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