of “Blue Island” A hybrid of documentary and adaptation by director Chan Tze-woon, modern Hong Kong real-life students recreate the political struggle of previous generations.
Two students, Anson Siam and Shiu Yin, set foot on the shoes of a couple, Chang Hakchi and Git Hin, who fled to Hong Kong from the Cultural Revolution in 1973. Part of the reenactment of the escape is a cross-cut with a documentary footage of the crackdown on demonstrators in Hong Kong in 2019. Elsewhere, student activist Keith von Chung-in meets and plays Kenneth Lamb, who traveled to Beijing in 1989. In solidarity with the protesters at Tiananmen Square.
Recent experiences of young subjects color their depictions. “You’re not just playing 20-year-old Kenneth in the 80’s. In one of the many moments when the movie breaks the Fourth Wall, the director tells Fong. Elsewhere, Raymond Cedrick Was imprisoned by an Englishman for breaking news circulated in 1967 and is a student protester who plays him Kelvin Tam Kwanlong (he was accused of riots and is awaiting trial himself. Sit in a cell with). Tell him that time will erode his ideals.
“Blue Island” shows how Hong Kong residents redefined themselves over time. While playing Young in 1967, Tam rebelliously tells British officials that he is Chinese. After a while, Tam, who is still dressed but now looks like himself, tells the interrogator that he is Hong Kong, not Chinese.
The film concludes with a long and quiet montage of those charged with their involvement in the democratic movement. It is impossible to see “Blue Island” without praising their courage. Parallel processing of the past and present is provocative, but it also looks faintly superficial — a way to break the distinction and streamline history.
Blue island
Unrated. Cantonese, Mandarin, English, with subtitles. Execution time: 1 hour 37 minutes. In the theater.
