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September 3rd, 2001 Issue #72

Hong Kong Digital is a recurring series of movie reviews by John Charles -- associate editor / film reviewer for Video Watchdog magazine and the author of The Hong Kong Filmography.

From The Queen To The Chief Executive
(2001; China Star Entertainment Group / One Hundred Years of Film / Nam Yin Production Company)

Cover art courtesy China Star.

RATING
10
A Masterpiece
9
Excellent
8
Highly Recommended
7
Very Good
6
Recommended
5
Marginal Recommendation
4
Not Recommended
3
Poor
2
Definitely Not Recommended
1
Dreadful

Cantonese: Dung hau Tung Kin Wah faat lok
Mandarin: Deng hou Dong Jianhua fa luo
English: Waiting for Tung Chee-hwa To Decide

 

Herman Yau Lai-to. Image courtesy China Star.

Who would have believed that Herman Yau Lai-to, the man responsible for such irredeemable Category III stomach churners as THE UNTOLD STORY and EBOLA SYNDROME, would one day helm a socially relevant semi-documentary about the plight of young offenders doomed by an uncaring system? Adapted from a book of the same name (though with some name changes and a fictional character added to help mould the narrative), FROM THE QUEEN TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE reminds viewers that one of the most notable human rights violations to be found in Asia was born not of Communist China but the supposedly democratic Great Britain.

David Lee Sheung-man. Image courtesy China Star.

In 1985, Cheung Yau-ming (David Lee Sheung-man) was one of five miscreants involved in the brutal murder of a white couple. As he was still a juvenile, the court ordered that he be "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure," a clause in British law allowing the government to imprison young offenders for an indefinite period. The film picks up in 1997, with Yau-ming (now 28) being paid a visit by a girl named Cheung Yue-ling (Ai Jing). During his years behind bars, Yau-ming developed an interest in literature and emerged as the winner of an Open University writing contest. Yue-ling was the runner-up and, interested in learning more about the person who beat her, began corresponding with Yau-ming. With only six months to go before the Handover, Yau-ming and 22 other prisoners hope to have their sentences determined soon, fearing what might happen should the decision about what to do with them become the province of incoming Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

Ai Jing. Image courtesy China Star.

Idealistic councillor Leung Chung-ken (Stephen Tang Shu-wing) takes up their cases but faces a mountain of indifference, from both the average citizen (many of whom feel no compassion for murderers, no matter what their plight) and his fellow politicians (who cannot understand why Chung-ken risks incensing millions of people for the sake of 23). Some of the offenders are helped before governor Chris Patten leaves office but the question of what will happen to the others remains and the change in leadership that follows accomplishes nothing.

There is a common thread here of severe domestic problems having contributed significantly to the situations that got these youths in hot water. Such family difficulties also extend to those fighting the injustice (Chung-ken's dedication to his job is tearing his family apart and Yue-ling suffered abuse as a little girl that drove her to commit a truly callous act), helping to make them fully rounded characters and not just angelic do-gooders. The film does indulge in some regrettable melodramatics but ultimately emerges as a worthy and occasionally poignant undertaking, well-acted by all, and directed with commendable sincerity by a filmmaker few would have guessed had it in him.

Stephen Tang Shu-Wing (centre with megaphone). Image courtesy China Star.

DVD Specs:

China Star #HF70045D
Dolby Digital 5.1
Sync Sound Cantonese and Dubbed Mandarin Language Tracks
Optional Subtitles In English or Traditional Chinese
8 Chapters Illustrated In the Menu With (Tiny) Clips
Letterboxed (1.80:1)
Enhanced for 16:9 Displays
Coded for ALL Regions
102 Minutes
Contains mid-range violence, brief sexual violence, brief nudity, and some graphic images

DVD menu courtesy China Star.

Film Board Ratings and Consumer Advice

British Columbia: 18A (Sexual Violence, Violence)
Hong Kong: IIB
Ontario: AA (Mature Theme, Not Recommended for Children)
Singapore: PG [Passed With Cuts]

Presentation

Like MASTER Q 2001 (reviewed in issue #67), the transfer is anamorphic but, once again, China Star has not mentioned this on the packaging (which also erroneously claims that the DVD is dual-layered). Unfortunately, this disc does not look anywhere near as good. Produced on a tiny budget, QUEEN was never meant to be eye candy, so one can hardly expect it to match that Tsui Hark effort in terms of glossiness. However, the presentation is very soft, bland, and overly dark, with weak contrasts. Smearing and displacement artifacting are also common, which may be partially due to the fact that the master has been converted from PAL (the theatrical version runs 106 minutes at 24 frames-per-second). On a happier note, the stereo mix is crisp (with fairly restrained but moderately effective use of the rear channels) and the English subtitles are excellent. An untranslated three minute documentary and a trailer are also included.

Stephen Tang and Ai Jing from the documentary feature included on the disc.


FROM THE QUEEN TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE is available at Poker Industries.


Click here for more information about The Hong Kong Filmography


Copyright © John Charles 2000, 2001. All Rights Reserved.
E-mail: mail@dighkmovies.com


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