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Matt Glasby

This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.
Founded in 1982 as an offshoot of Channel 4, Film4 was committed to reinvigorating British cinema by platforming new voices and exploring complex, contemporary subjects. The 1988 immigration drama Soursweet is a prime example.
Based on the Booker Prize-shortlisted novel by British-Asian writer Timothy Mo, the film stars Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang Ai-chia – who was soon to be a huge name in Asian cinema – as Lily, a Hong Kong woman who moves to London with her husband, Chen (Danny Dun An-ning), to start a new life.
Although well made and well intentioned, the film has the strange distinction of having almost no Chinese people behind the camera. Not that it stopped the careers of its key figures from soaring.


Director Mike Newell would go on to make the international smashes Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Meanwhile, screenwriter Ian McEwan would prove himself one of the UK’s greatest novelists with Enduring Love, Amsterdam and Atonement, among others.
We first meet Lily and Chen on their wedding day in Hong Kong, where Chen announces that, under the British Nationality Act 1981, he has been invited to become a British citizen.
We quickly see the reality of their new life: a hot restaurant kitchen where Chen works as a waiter; a cramped flat that he, Lily and their son Man Kee (Speedy Choo) share with Lily’s sister Mui (Jodi Long); and dreams of escape.
“Chen, we are wasting life,” says the ambitious Lily. Her plan is for them to start their own takeaway, which they manage to do in a rundown part of South London. Asked if he has any concerns about his ability to cook, Chen remarks, “It’s takeaway food, the English like it. I don’t need to know anything about it!”
But when his triad connections catch up with them, it soon spells disaster.

If all this sounds a little unpromising, it is little wonder. Even for a writer of McEwan’s talents, adapting a 300-page, not-especially-cinematic novel for the screen is a thankless task.
Chen is an unappealing character, closed off and passive. Some of the secondary performances are awkward, not least because the characters speak in broken English rather than subtitled Cantonese. Furthermore, the scenes of triad violence feel beamed in from another film altogether.
But where Soursweet excels is in the intimacy with which it treats its main characters.
We watch Lily trying to build up Chen’s confidence while they are intimate. Meanwhile, the camera captures moments of quiet contemplation that speak volumes: a team of Chinese waiters eating together in silence after the hustle and bustle of service; Chen alone on the night bus, clutching his dinner in a plastic bag; or him swinging Man Kee in the grim park near the takeaway.

As played by the charismatic Chang, Lily is a force to be reckoned with. Whether scrubbing the restaurant floors to a shine in the early morning light or teaching her son to fight off bullies, she imbues the “tiger mum” archetype with real humanity.
“If someone hurts you, you never show it on your face,” she tells Man Kee.
The scene where Mui admits she is pregnant is particularly powerful, with Lily slapping her sister repeatedly in fury for letting them down. Mui, we understand, just wants to feel connected to something – anything – in this strange new place.
Later, in an especially moving sequence, we watch Mui give up her baby daughter for a better life – a poignant irony, given that this is what moving to England should have meant for them in the first place.

Like the title – which refers to the joys and hardships of the immigrant experience, as well as the most popular dish in the takeaway – it is a film of contrasts.
At work, Lily and her family experience extraordinary racism, but they are also racist themselves. Lily marvels at Caucasian faces – “All pink skin, like pigs” – and complains about the loose morals of the young women she serves.
In trying to confront racism, however, the film proves problematic itself. “Always knew you Chinese were sensible blokes, unlike these bloody West Indians,” their Greek neighbour, Constantinides, says.
Unfortunately, he is played by the Harrogate-born Jim Carter, adopting a comedically exaggerated accent.

In the context of the times, however, not to mention Film4’s remit, Soursweet was a step in the right direction. Admittedly, the credits read like a British public school register – full of Rogers, Richards and Adrians – and the credit “Special thanks to the Chinese community of Great Britain” feels patronising.
But there is something encouraging about British filmmakers at least trying to understand the lives of newcomers like Chen and Lily, even if it means that, ultimately, they still control the narrative.
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European cinema

Soursweet, British drama on Hong Kong immigrants, showed grim reality of their new lives

Sylvia Chang in a still from Soursweet (1988). Film4’s drama about a Hong Kong family trying to make a new life in London was written by Ian McEwan and directed by Mike Newell, and had almost no Chinese people behind the camera.

Danny Dun (left) in a still from Soursweet.

Speedy Choo and Sylvia Chang in a still from Soursweet.

Sylvia Chang in a still from Soursweet.

Sylvia Chang and Danny Dun in a still from Soursweet.

A Great Wall, the first American film shot in China, told a genial East meets West tale

(From left) Xiu Jian, Li Qinqin and Kelvin Han Yee in a still from A Great Wall (1986), the first American film to be shot and co-produced in China. Photo Nanhai

Peter Wang (left) and Hu Xiaoguang in a still from A Great Wall (1986). Photo Nanhai

Shirley Sun and Peter Wang, the Chinese-American producer and director, respectively, of the film A Great Wall, during an interview with the Post in 1986. Photo: SCMP

What happened to 1986’s Ping Pong, pioneering first film shot in London’s Chinatown?

David Yip (left) and Lucy Sheen in a still from Ping Pong (1986), directed by Leong Po-chih and filmed in London’s Chinatown.

Victor Kan in a still from Ping Pong.

A still from Ping Pong.

Lucy Sheen (left) and David Yip in a still from Ping Pong.

Why Jet Li’s Kiss of the Dragon was banned in China despite being a global hit

Jet Li carries Bridget Fonda in a still from Kiss of the Dragon (2001), a popular film around the world that was banned in China. Photo: SCMP

Jet Li in a still from Kiss of the Dragon. Photo: SCMP

Li and filmmaker Luc Besson at a news conference for Kiss of the Dragon at the Island Shangri-la Hotel, in Hong Kong, in July 2001. Photo: SCMP

Li in a still from Kiss of the Dragon. Photo: SCMP

Li (left) in a still from Kiss of the Dragon. Photo: SCMP

Cecilia Cheung: Hong Kong actress, sex scandal victim and Chinese social media star

Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

Cheung and Nicholas Tse in 2001. Photo: Reuters

Cheung in a still from Lost in Time (2003), for which she won best actress at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group

Cheung and Tse at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011, the year they filed for divorce. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cheung and Stephen Chow in a still from King of Comedy (1999). Her feature-film debut remains one of her most memorable roles. Photo: The Star Overseas

Cheung and her three sons. Photo: Weibo

Cheung in a photo she posted on her Weibo account in 2023. Photo: Weibo

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

East meets West

How giant shark movie The Meg, starring Li Bingbing and Jason Statham, became the highest grossing China-US co-production in history

Li Bingbing and Jason Statham in a scene from The Meg (2018).

Li Bingbing and Ruby Rose in a still from The Meg.

Rain Wilson and Winston Chow in a still from The Meg.

Li Bingbing (third, left) and Jason Statham (centre) lead an international cast in The Meg (2018). Despite negative reviews, the film made US$530 million worldwide to be the highest-grossing Chinese-American co-production of all time.

Zhang Yimou’s fantasy movie The Great Wall with Matt Damon – a great fail for the China-US co-production model

Matt Damon in a still from The Great Wall.

Director Zhang Yimou (centre) and his main cast members on the set of The Great Wall.

Andy Lau in a still from The Great Wall.

Matt Damon in a scene from The Great Wall. The most expensive film ever shot on Chinese soil, it lost US$75 million worldwide.

Keanu Reeves’ martial arts movie Man of Tai Chi marked a high point for China-US co-productions – yet bombed at the box office

Keanu Reeves in a still from Man of Tai Chi (2013).

Tiger Chen stars in Man of Tai Chi, a 2013 film directed by Keanu Reeves.

Tiger Chen (right) and Yu Hai in a still from Man of Tai Chi.

Keanu Reeves in a still from Man of Tai Chi.

How Chinese movie fans made Warcraft the most successful video game adaptation of all time

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning (2016).

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning (2016). Despite flopping badly in the US, the film made a massive US$156 million in its first five days on release in China.

Travis Fimmel (left) in a scene from Warcraft: The Beginning.

Fimmel (left) and director Duncan Jones on the set of Warcraft: The Beginning.

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning.

How 2012 time-travel thriller Looper rewrote the future of Chinese-American co-productions

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a still from Looper.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a scene from Looper. The movie was one of the first major Hollywood films to be granted Chinese co-production status.

Summer Qing (left) and Bruce Willis in a still from Looper.

Emily Blunt in a still from Looper.

Director Rian Johnson (left) speaks to Gordon-Levitt on the set of Looper.

US-China co-production Transformers: Age of Extinction, with its Hong Kong scenes and Chinese character, made more money in China than in the US

Mark Wahlberg in a still fromTransformers: Age of Extinction.  

Optimus Prime and a Dinobot in a still from Transformers: Age of Extinction. The fourth instalment in the Transformers series took more money at the Chinese box office than in the US.

 Mark Wahlberg at the world premiere of Transformers: Age of Extinction, at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, in 2014. Photo: Felix Wong

Stanley Tucci and Li Bingbing in a still from Transformers: Age of Extinction.

A model of the Transformers character Bumblebee in front of Qianmen Gate in central Beijing in 2014. Photo: Jason Lee/Reuters

Why China – not Jackie Chan, nor even Jaden Smith – is the real star of 2010 co-production The Karate Kid

Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in a still from The Karate Kid (2010).

Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, co-stars of The Karate Kid. The real star of the 2010 co-production is arguably China, where the film was shot in locations including the Forbidden City, Great Wall and Wudang mountains. Photo: AP

Jaden Smith in a still from The Karate Kid.

Jackie Chan as Mr. Han and Jaden Smith as Dre Parker in a still from The Karate Kid.

How Marvel’s Iron Man 3 tried but failed to please Chinese viewers, from Fan Bingbing’s pointless cameo to brazen product placement

Robert Downey Jr. in a still from Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (2013). A special cut of the movie made for Chinese audiences included four minutes of extra footage. 

Ben Kingsley plays a version of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

Fan Bingbing in a still from the Chinese version of Iron Man 3.

Performers at a promotional event before the release of Iron Man 3 in China. Photo: Reuters

Why Jackie Chan’s 2017 movie The Foreigner, a UK-China co-production, was that rare project to offer the best of both worlds

Jackie Chan in a still from The Foreigner. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Jackie Chan and Rory Fleck Byrne in a still from The Foreigner, directed by Martin Campbell. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Jackie Chan and Katie Leung in a still from The Foreigner. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Pierce Brosnan in a still from The Foreigner.

Jackie Chan (centre) at the China premiere screening of The Foreigner.

How The Last Emperor opened doors for more China co-productions and offered a balanced view of its complicated past

Tao Wu and Joan Chen in a still from The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

John Lone as Puyi in a scene from Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987). The film opened doors for future co-productions with China.

A still from The Last Emperor.

Film director Bernardo Bertolucci (right) in Beijing, in 1985, with The Last Emperor adviser Pujie, brother of Puyi, the last emperor of China’s Qing dynasty.

How Furious 7 left the competition behind in China, unlike most China-US co-productions

Paul Walker in a scene from Furious 7. When the China-US co-production was released in China in 2015, it broke just about every record going.

A still from Furious 7.

Director James Wan and Vin Diesel on the set of Furious 7.

How 2012 movie The Expendables 2 short-changed Chinese viewers and everyone else, too – but still made US$315 million

Sylvester Stallone in a still from The Expendables 2.

(From left:) Yu Nan, Terry Crews, Sylvester Stallone, Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren in a still from The Expendables 2.

Jet Li in a still from The Expendables 2.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in a still from The Expendables 2.

Sylvester Stallone (left) and Yu Nan in a still from The Expendables 2.

How US-China co-production The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), co-starring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, buried a billion-dollar franchise

Jet Li in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Jet Li as the vicious Han Emperor in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).

Maria Bello (left) and Brendan Fraser in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Luke Ford (left) and Isabella Leong in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Michelle Yeoh in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Despite starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom, a US-China co-production, ended up as ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for kids’

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom. Photo: Online


From left: Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano and Liu Yifei in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom (2008). Photo: SCMPost

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom. Photo: Online

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan arrive for the world premiere of The Forbidden Kingdom in Beijing, China in 2008. Photo: AP

Jet Li and Liu Yifei in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom (2008).

Steven Spielberg’s China-set Empire of the Sun – the first American film to be shot in Shanghai since the 1940s – forgot one important element: the Chinese

Christian Bale (left) in a still from Empire of the Sun.

Christian Bale in a still from Empire of the Sun.

The crowded streets of Shanghai in a still from Empire of the Sun. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

A still from Empire of the Sun.

How The Dark Knight’s makers tried in vain to court China by shooting scenes for Christopher Nolan’s superhero masterpiece in Hong Kong

The Dark Night was partly filmed in Hong Kong.

Batman swoops over Hong Kong’s Central district in a scene from The Dark Knight, which failed to impress China despite its makers’ intentions. Photo: Warner Brothers

Christopher Nolan (right) on the set of The Dark Knight in Hong Kong.

Crowds mob Christian Bale during shooting in Hong Kong in 2007. Photo: SCMP

 Chin Han plays corrupt businessman Lau (right), with Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, in a still from The Dark Knight (2008).

Bad guys changed from Chinese to North Korean in Red Dawn remake at the height of Hollywood appeasing China in 2012 – but it still flopped

Chris Hemsworth in a still from Red Dawn (2012).

(From left) Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson and Chris Hemsworth in a still from Red Dawn. Photo: Ron Phillips/2009 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

‘North Korea’ in a still from Red Dawn.

Chris Hemsworth and cast in a still from Red Dawn.

Will Yun Lee in a still from Red Dawn.

Did China ruin actor Richard Gere’s career after 1997 film Red Corner?

FOR USE WITH FEATURE PACKAGE FOR SUNDAY NOV. 2 --Chinese actress Bai Ling begs Richard Gere not to run in a scene from the movie “Red Corner,” being released Friday, Oct. 31.  “Red Corner,” an account of an American executive framed for murder and railroaded by the Chinese judicial system, is one of five films being released that deal with Chinese oppression.  The fresh batch of China-related films is motivated by genuine concern about international human rights and the film business’ unique position to advocate for change. (AP Photo/Richard Foreman Jr., HO)

Richard Gere in the 1997 film Red Corner, which was highly critical of China. Photo: UPPA

Bai Ling (centre) in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Richard Gere in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Richard Gere (centre) and Bai Ling (right) in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Is Dwayne Johnson action movie Skyscraper a blueprint for US-China co-production despite being a box-office flop in America?

Dwayne Johnson attends a Skyscraper press conference in Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dwayne Johnson (left) and Chin Han in a still from Skyscraper, a film which courted the Chinese market it wanted to break into with respect. 

Neve Campbell (left) and Dwayne Johnson in a still from Skyscraper.

Johnson with Chin Han (left) and Campbell (right) at the Skyscraper press conference in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dwayne Johnson in a still from Skyscraper.

Why this dragon didn’t roar: starring Sam Neill, first Chinese-Australian film co-production The Dragon Pearl was a flop

Sam Neill in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

A still from The Dragon Pearl (2011). In order to appease China and get approval for the film, the character of the dragon was changed and the script rewritten weeks before filming began. 

Li Linjin as Ling (left) and Jordan Chan as Wu Dong in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Sam Neill as Chris Chase (left) and Robert Mammone as Philip Dukas in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Louis Corbett and Li Linjin in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Why Milla Jovovich movie Ultraviolet, a US film shot in China, went so horribly wrong

Milla Jovovich in a still from the 2006 movie Ultraviolet, a US-China co-production that rips off sci-fi standards such as Total Recall, The Matrix and Minority Report.

Milla Jovovich (left) and Cameron Bright in a still from Ultraviolet.

Milla Jovovich in a still from Ultraviolet.

(From left) Ultraviolet director Kurt Wimmer, Charles Wang of producer Salon Films, and John Tsang, then Hong Kong secretary of commerce, industry and technology, in 2004. Photo: SCMP

Why Brad Pitt was banned from China after 1997 movie Seven Years in Tibet

Brad Pitt as mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in a still from Seven Years in Tibet (1997), directed by Jean-Jacque Annaud. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo.

Brad Pitt in a still from Seven Years in Tibet (1997), directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

Seven Years in Tibet director Jean-Jacques Annaud (left) and star Brad Pitt (centre), and members of the Tibetan Association of Southern California, at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on October 6, 1997. Photo: Reuters

Brad Pitt (right) as Heinrich Harrer receives a blessing from Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk as the Dalai Lama in a still from Seven Years in Tibet. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo

Brad Pitt (left) as Heinrich Harrer and David Thewlis as fellow Austrian mountaineer Peter Aufschnaiter in a still from Seven Years in Tibet. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo

Brad Pitt poses for a selfie with Chinese fans as he arrives at a premiere of the film Allied in Shanghai, China on November 14, 2016. Photo: AP

Was Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, a US-Mexico co-production set in Hong Kong, really a show of Hollywood power?

A still from a scene in Hong Kong in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim”. The film, inspired by Godzilla movies, was criticised by some in China for its geopolitical undertones, but the director argued that it was simply popcorn entertainment. Photo: Warner Bros

Charlie Hunnam (left) and Rinko Kikuchi in a still from “Pacific Rim”. Photo: Warner Bros

A still from “Pacific Rim”. Photo: Warner Bros

Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro signs posters from “Pacific Rim” in Los Angeles, California, in 2013. Photo: EPA/Michael Nelson

How US-China co-production The 355, starring Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain and Fan Bingbing, failed on all fronts

Jessica Chastain as Mason “Mace” Brown in a still from “The 355”, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg.

(From left) Diane Kruger as Marie, Jessica Chastain as Mason “Mace” Brown and Lupita Nyong’o as Khadijah in a still from “The 355”, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg. The US-China co-production, which also featured Fan Bingbing, was a box office flop.

Co-writer/director Simon Kinberg (left) and Jessica Chastain on the set of The 355.

Fan Bingbing as Lin Mi Sheng in a still from The 355, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg.

(From left) Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o and Diane Kruger in a still from The 355.

How Jackie Chan vehicle Skiptrace, a 2016 US-China co-production by Hollywood director Renny Harlin, put the clash in culture clash

Jackie Chan as Benny Chan and Johnny Knoxville as US gambler Connor Watts in a still from US-China co-production Skiptrace (2016). Photo: Intercontinental Film Distributors

Fan Bingbing as Samantha (left), the daughter of Jackie Chan’s partner, and Johnny Knoxville as American gambler Connor Watts (right) in a still from “Skiptrace”.

Film director Renny Harlin in Hong Kong in 2019. Photo: Edmond So

Jackie Chan as Hong Kong detective Benny Chan in a still from “Skiptrace”.

Fan Bingbing in a still from “Skiptrace”.

How Bait 3D, an Australia-Singapore shark movie co-production, became a monster hit at the Chinese box office

A still from “Bait 3D”.

Soursweet, British drama on Hong Kong immigrants, showed grim reality of their new lives

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Soursweet (1988), about a Hong Kong family’s UK struggles, was a progressive film, despite the narrative controlled by its British makers

Soursweet (1988), about a Hong Kong family’s UK struggles, was a progressive film, despite the narrative controlled by its British makers