{"product_id":"chinese-box","title":"Chinese Box","description":"Amazon.com\n\nSet during the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong in 1997, this fascinating film uses that urgent and grandly ceremonial political backdrop for an intimate study of personal transition. Jeremy Irons plays a seasoned journalist who discovers he is terminally ill, causing him to be torn between his obsessive love for a former prostitute (Chinese film star Li Gong) and a streetwise hustler (Maggie Cheung) whom he has chosen as the subject of a video documentary. Through his involvement in the lives of these two very different women, director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) creates a cinematic \"love-hate letter\" to his native Hong Kong, where each character is allegorical and suffers an identity crisis much like Hong Kong itself. The film's love story is somewhat aimless and ultimately unimportant, but Chinese Box (even the title suggests a place that holds secrets within its borders) remains a fascinating film in the semi-documentary tradition, capturing the psychology of its time and place with compelling immediacy. Musician\/actor\/politician Ruben Blades is featured in a memorable supporting role. --Jeff Shannon\n\nProduct Description\n\nJohn (Irons) is an English photojournalist who has spent over a decade in Hong Kong; his friend Jim (Blades) often crashes in his cramped apartment. John's unrequited love is Vivian (Gong Li) whom he aches for but has not the nerve to possess. Concurrent with England's transfer of Hong Kong back to the Chinese, John discovers that he has a rare form of leukemia and has only months to live. So John, Jim, and the disfigured proto-hippy Jean (Cheung) grab a digital video camera and prowl the streets, seeking to document the \"real\" Hong Kong one last time.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 6305078521\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: DBV.6305078521.A\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Acceptable\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Jeremy Irons|Gong Li|Maggie Cheung|Rubén Blades|Michael Hui|Chaplin Chang|Jared Harris|Noel Rands|Emma Lucia|Ken Bennett|Russell Cawthorne|Emotion Cheung|Jonathan Midgley|Harvey Stockwin|Dr. Julian Chang|Bruce Walker|Angelica Lofgren|Rui Chao Jian|Sing Chau Wai|Lo Hung|Wayne Wang\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Dvd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case will show wear, and may be in library packaging. Ships fast!  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dream Books Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41702065602618,"sku":"DBV.6305078521.A","price":8.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/6011\/0138\/files\/6305078521-0.jpg?v=1790304787","url":"https:\/\/shop.dreambooksco.com\/products\/chinese-box","provider":"Dream Books Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}