The handover moment: Representing transition in Chinese Box

This article reassesses Wayne Wang’s Chinese Box (1997) a quarter century after the film’s production with a focus on ‘transition’. It aims to ‘recover’ Chinese Box on different levels, arguing that this complex film is an important historical artefact from the handover period of Hong Kong and a clear film d’auteur to which the director’s vision is the key. In contrast with the cold critical reception of the film at the time of its release, this article posits that Chinese Box is an accomplished work of transnational cinema that, merging fiction and documentary, constitutes a powerful personal reflection on Hong Kong and its diverse communities in a time of flux.