Where does "Magic Love" win at the box office?

01 point of view

Written by: Review Editor Room

2020-07-08 08:00

The movie "Phantom Love", which discussed issues such as forbidden love and mental health, was released last Thursday (July 2) and won the box office for two consecutive days on the weekend. In addition to making many Hong Kong people feel more intimate, this set of local movies also makes people think again about "Hong Kong films are dead."

The investment of this movie is only 6 million, which can be regarded as a small production, but the response is quite good. An important reason lies in its strong local background, including the use of Tuen Mun as the shooting location, and the appearance of the characteristic light rail elements in the northwest of the New Territories many times. Under the epidemic situation, the citizens may reduce their outings and consumption, but many people still go to the theaters to show that the movie is supported.

The movie is well-received, which is the opposite of the theme of "Hong Kong Films Are Dead" in recent years. But in fact, long before "Magic Love", the evaluation of "Hong Kong film is dead" is already debatable. For example, in 2016, "One Mindlessness", which reflects the current status of Hong Kong's bottom society, won many awards such as the Asian Weekly "Top 10 Chinese Films" and the 2017 Osaka Asian Film Festival "Best Work Award". In 2018, "The Fallen Man" who helped Huang Qiusheng win the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor was also well received by the industry. In the same year, "Tracy" was shortlisted for the Golden Horse Award, and was hailed as the Hong Kong version of "Danish Girl". It can be seen that when the box office competitiveness of commercial Hong Kong films that people are more concerned about declines, Hong Kong films still have plenty of room to play.

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Government needs industrial policy

Sporadic movies have won word-of-mouth and certainly cannot be compared with the past scenery. What's more, applause is not necessarily a success. If the profit is not as good as commercial films, it is always difficult to support the booming development of the film industry. If the government does not have adequate industrial policies, "Hong Kong films are dead" will not become an epitaph for the Hong Kong film industry.

Taking the epidemic as an example, the government lacked support for film workers. Eventually, the "Hong Kong Performing Artistes Association" and the "Hong Kong Film Workers' Association" immediately called on various affiliates and interested parties to launch the "Hong Kong Film Workers Epidemic Support Program" To help the grassroots workers in the industry to resolve their urgent needs so as not to cause brain drain. On weekdays, the Hong Kong government has also insufficiently supported the development of the film industry. The government established the Film Development Fund in 1999, but as of 2018, a total of 540 million yuan has been invested. Another example is the launch of the "First Drama Film Project" and "Film Production Subsidy Program" in 2013 and 2015. There are only three places in each season's film production subsidy program, and each film is only worth 2 million yuan, which is a lot of money.

On the other hand, the direction of the government to support the film industry also needs to be reviewed. For example, in the film development fund mentioned above, only 108 million yuan was directly used to fund film production. When the government's direct filming subsidies are rare, production will inevitably rely on many people to help in the form of volunteers or low wages. This has also caused an unknown prospect for the film industry, making it difficult to attract talent to stay and develop. For example, due to limited funding, Hong Kong rarely provides full-time or monthly salary screenwriter positions. Chen Yongshen, the famous screenwriter who created famous dramas such as "Always in My Heart", "Xin Shi Shi Mei" series, and "Subway", also bluntly, most of the screenwriters including themselves must have multiple positions in order to survive, and at the same time as him The two screenwriters who graduated soon left the film industry due to pressure.

(The stills of "One Mindless")

In the limited government funding, there are the following issues worth discussing. For example, the standard for funding movies. The government’s “Film Production Subsidy Scheme” clearly states that “recognized as commercially viable”, but the box office is not entirely an indicator of success. Will this restrict the creation of literary and niche themes, and whether it needs improvement criteria deserves government consideration . Another example is that the industry often criticizes the lack of transparency of development funds and the unclear criteria for funding approval. These are issues that the government needs to further improve.

Since the Hong Kong government mentioned in the 2007-2008 Policy Address that "Hong Kong-produced films are our most successful example of creative products, allowing Hong Kong to enter the global market and promote the international market," it should be practical and specific. China’s policies support the development of local films and help Hong Kong films rebirth.

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