Letters | How Hong Kong cinema can get back in the picture

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Stephen Chow in “All’s Well, Ends Well”, a 1992 Lunar New Year comedy hit that spawned seven not-always-successful sequels. Hong Kong was once famous for its comedy and action movies, but, over time, the scripts became formulaic. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:30am, 13 Jan 2021Updated: 7:30am, 13 Jan 2021

I am writing in response to “How Hong Kong’s film industry can reinvent itself for a global audience” (January 10). Hong Kong films were internationally popular in the 1970s and 1980s, and some of them became legendary. However, the quality of local films has since declined, and they seldom succeed in the international market these days. However, as the article mentions, Hong Kong cinema still enjoys an international reputation – it just needs time to reinvent itself.

Hong Kong is famous for its comedy and action movies but, over time, the scripts for these types of films became formulaic. In other words, they were not creative enough. Audiences got tired of the clichés and stopped supporting local films. To build up support and save the local movie industry from going further downhill, screenplay writers and directors must think outside the box and produce unique works.

Unfortunately, the film industry has limited resources. Many directors who do not have the money to get a movie made end up collaborating with a mainland company. The result is co-productions that do not have the same flavour as the Hong Kong films of old, as mainland society is very different from that in Hong Kong, and film-goers there do not have the same taste as those on this side of the border.

Moreover, a director needs to consider many other factors for such co-productions, including the requirements of the mainland government.

I believe that Hong Kong still has many creative and talented directors. However, it is hard for them to survive, much less thrive, in Hong Kong.