Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Film Programmes Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will present the programme “!NSPIRE Series 2025: Integrating the Modern and the Traditional: Chinese Humanism and Hong Kong Cinema” from September 21 to October 25, showcasing 12 films highlighting humanistic values at the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA). Selected films are presented under four themes, namely “Ethos of Family and State”, “Spirit of the Literati”, “The Shine of Being Woman” and “The Legal Dimension”, each comprising two Hong Kong films showcasing Chinese culture and one foreign film as a cultural reference.
Under the theme “Ethos of Family and State”, “It Was a Cold Winter Night” (1955), adapted from a novel by Ba Jin, depicts the conflicts and struggles of a well-educated married couple in the face of war and between old and new cultures. “The Warlords” (2007) features epic battle scenes as well as multifarious struggles between loyalty and politics in the Taiping Rebellion during the late Qing dynasty. The Japanese film “The Wife’s Confession” (1961) (4K restored version) tells the story of a wife who becomes a suspect in the murder of her husband, prompting reflection on traditional marriage and female representation.
In the theme “Spirit of the Literati”, “Chu Yuan” (1977), written, directed and starring Bow Fong, expresses the patriotic poet Qu Yuan’s political ideals in a solemn manner. Director Ann Hui’s “The Golden Era” (2014) tells of writer Xiao Hong’s devotion to writing during times of material scarcity and political upheaval. Based on the history of the Joseon era, the film “The Book of Fish” (2021) is about the encounters and friendship between an exiled scholar and a local fisherman with a desire for knowledge.
Films in the theme “The Shine of Being Woman” convey the struggles of modern women. In “It So Happens to a Woman” (1955), Hung Sin Nui plays the role of a career woman in the 1950s when society is in the ebbs and flows of the cultures of old and new, illustrating women’s struggles between family and career. “Sisters of the World Unite” (1991) is a story about how two sisters, played by Sylvia Chang and Sally Yeh, in their middle age with distinct personalities and fates support each other through thick and thin. In Korean film “Bound by Chastity Rule” (1962), a young widow becomes pregnant after falling in love with a young man working in a rural village but is separated from her lover and newborn son under the arch of chastity.
In the theme “The Legal Dimension”, the film “The Adulteress” (1962) tells the story of Xiao Bai Cai, who is defiled by the son of a local government official, and later falsely accused of adultery and murdering her husband with her former lover. In “Lawyer Lawyer” (1997), Chan Mong-gut, a legendary lawyer, defends his apprentice framed for a crime in a court of law, reflecting the mentality of ordinary people in a satirical way. The classic American courtroom film “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959) (4K restored version) revolves around a murder case with plenty of complex emotions and motives coming to light as the defence attorney unravels the intricate murder, revealing the thin line between good and evil.
Tickets for film screenings priced at $75 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2734 2900 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en/listing.html?id=80.
All screenings of the Hong Kong films will be accompanied by post-screening talks, hosted by co-curator Sam Ho, film critics Thomas Shin, Caily Mak, Shum Long-tin, and Matthew Cheng, director Lau Shing-hon, as well as scholars Dr Kwok Sze-wing and Prof Yau Ching. Ticket holders of respective screenings will be admitted to the talks with priority. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis with free admission.
Four seminars, titled “The Times They are a-Changin'”, “Character, Virtue and the Literati”, “Changing the Gaze” and “Court of Law or Court of Justice?” will be held. The seminars will be hosted by co-curators Sam Ho and Joyce Yang with speakers including scholars Prof Eva Man and Prof Cheng Pei-kai, directors Oliver Chan and Jeffrey Lam, as well as actresses Rachel Leung and Louisa So. The seminars will be conducted at the Cinema of the HKFA and the Function Room AC2, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis with free admission.
The screening programme is also one of the activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.ccpo.gov.hk/en/.