At first, Hong Kong can be a frustrating place for the newly-arrived movielover, but it's not without its charms. Unfortunately, unlike New York, London, Paris and other major metropolises, it takes time for the year's most acclaimed films to find their way to Hong Kong's screens. For example, The Fighter will not be playing here until later this month. The King’s Speech only opens tomorrow, and Black Swan and True Grit just came out last Thursday. Smaller independent films might not get theatrical releases here at all, so you have to resort to buying DVDs or going online to find them.
Sillier, less critically-acclaimed films, on the other hand, often open in Hong Kong in concert with their US release, and sometimes even before! Love and Other Drugs, No Strings Attached, Sanctum 3D and countless other mindless chick-flicks and action films are often all that can be found during the dry spells. It can be very annoying when people back home tell you that a great movie has just come out, knowing it will be months before you get a chance to see it.
One of the first differences that struck this American filmgoer upon arriving at his first Hong Kong cinema (to see Avatar) was having to choose a seat when buying a ticket. Here, you take a real chance if you just show up at the box office twenty minutes prior to show time, because screenings often sell out hours or even days in advance, especially when a popular film has just opened. Other times, the last remaining seats will be in the very front row—and I’ve gotten stuck there too often! I suppose I’ve adapted to this difference by now, but I still think “first come, first served” seating at the movies is a better way to go.
AMC Pacific Place, where I saw Avatar soon after arriving in Hong Kong
For all my complaints, though, I must say the theaters themselves are incredible. In general, the seats are much more comfortable here than in any other city where I’ve been a moviegoer. And there is a very classic feel to most of the cinemas, from the gold curtains that open as the film is starting to the ushers who escort you to your seat.
I work in a skyscraper in Central called IFC2—a stroke of luck because there is a movie theater in the IFC Mall downstairs! I can easily go down after work to see a film at the IFC Palace, and I can find time to visit the box office earlier in the day to ensure I get decent seats. If a showtime is just right, I can even squeeze one in during my two-hour lunch break, but the timing has to be perfect. Though it’s not my favorite Hong Kong movie theater, it’s certainly the most convenient, and therefore probably the one where I’ve spent the most time.
IFC Palace, in the shopping mall connected to my office building
Just across the harbor in TST is the Grand Ocean, a rare remaining relic from a grander, more glamorous era of movie-going. Built in the 1960s, the huge theater only has one screen and over a thousand seats! Due to its single screen, the theater usually only shows one film at a time, for a week or so, before changing its program. Thus, you have little choice in what you see but are treated to a very retro experience. The only movie I’ve seen here so far has been The Tourist, and although that much-maligned film was pretty silly and far from believable, it still made for an overall great night seeing it in such a stunning venue.
Grand Ocean Cinema
Further up the Kowloon peninsula, in Yau Ma Tei, is one of Hong Kong’s true cinema gems, the Broadway Cinémathèque. To boot, it has a wonderful little café attached to it, called Kubrick, that is ideal for a nice coffee or snack before or after the movie. This theater has a constant stream of interesting films on its roster, running the gamut from foreign art films and American indies to standard shoot ‘em ups and fun rom-coms. It has special previews of major films before they open at other theaters around town and well-planned festivals and retrospectives of great classic and modern films. Surprisingly, this year, it is the only cinema in town to schedule any screenings of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, the bizarrely-titled Thai film that won the Palm d'or at Cannes.
Yau Ma Tei's Broadway Cinematheque
In the Elements shopping mall in West Kowloon is the Grand Cinema (not to be confused with the Grand Ocean), which is where I went last night to see True Grit. It is a great theater that often keeps movies for an extended period of time. For example, in case you missed it, they are still showing The Social Network. It’s also where I managed to catch a preview of The King’s Speech about a week ago, allowing me to see it before the Academy Awards even though it still hasn't officially opened here. The Grand Cinema also puts together some good festivals, including one that starts this week and includes such films as The Hurt Locker, The Tree and, inexplicably for series called “Art Scene Revisited”, Step Up-3D. I’m not sure how that one slipped in there!
The Grand Cinema, Elements, West Kowloon
Tuesday night is officially “discount movie ticket night” in this town. All the regular theaters—yes, literally all of them—slash their prices significantly for the Tuesday screenings. So for maybe HK$50 (about $6) you can see the film of your choice instead of the usual HK$75 or HK$80. The actual discount depends on the specific theater, but regardless, it is a good excuse to go to the movies. Monday has its 2-for-1 dinner deal, and Wednesday has its horse races in Happy Valley, so Tuesday fits perfectly in between as a night to catch a good film. Since I’ve come back from my Christmas trip home, I’ve pretty much taken advantage of this deal every week.
There are some other theaters that are pretty special here in Hong Kong. Perhaps the coolest is the Director’s Club in Taikoo Shing. Two intimate twelve-seat screening rooms (named the Hitchcock and Chaplin Theatres) show current, popular films in a truly luxurious setting. The fully reclining leather chairs are just like first class airplane seats. Since the theater is air conditioned, warm blankets are provided. And the ticket price of HK$175 (about $22), while much more expensive than standard movie tickets, includes a hot dog to start and unlimited popcorn and soda throughout the film. Only instead of having to get up and leave the theater to get refills, you simply press a button on your chair and an usher appears and takes your order! So far, I've only made it here once, in August to see Toy Story 3, but I can't wait to go back.
Hong Kong's most luxurious cinema, the Director's Club
The Agnès B. Cinéma, near my apartment in Wan Chai, has some interesting films from time to time, though recently the programming has been more sporadic than it used to be. Thanks to this theater, I was finally able to see some films I'd been hearing about for years: Bullitt, The Seventh Seal and Vivre sa Vie. I also got the rare chance to see the monumental Japanese trilogy The Human Condition, which clocks in at almost ten hours. The three-part epic was presented over the course of a weekend, and it was incredible. And what makes Agnès B. particularly refreshing for me is its open seating policy—no pre-selected seats here, sit anywhere you like!!
From time to time, there are also special cinematic events around town. On a rainy Thursday night last July, for example, one of the city's major concert halls held a screening of Charlie Chaplin's silent classic City Lights, accompanied by live orchestra! It was one of the more intersting events on Hong Kong's culture calendar, and I am so glad I got to see it.
A venue focusing specifically on classic films is the Hong Kong Film Archive, which I love. Located in Sai Wan Ho, this isn’t just a movie theater, it’s a center for film preservation, exhibition and study. Once a month they screen what they call a Restored Treasure, which is generally an older film highly regarded in the world of cinema. Past treasures have included Lawrence of Arabia and the Japanese drama Twenty-Four Eyes.
The Hong Kong Film Archive
The HKFA also organizes major film series on a regular basis. For me, the highlight of the last year was their comprehensive Alfred Hitchcock festival, which lasted almost two months! In all, I made it to six screenings throughout October and November. Luckily, since Sai Wan Ho is pretty far from the action, the Archive rented out screening spaces in more centrally-located parts of town for almost half of the films, so I got to take some friends to see Psycho for their first time without having to drag them all the way to Sai Wan Ho!
And of course, the imminent 35th annual Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is a major cinematic event of increasing worldwide importance. Although it is a tier below the festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Toronto, it will surely be a pleasure to attend screenings in the presence of directors and other creative forces behind the production of many new and exciting films.
Now that I’ve gotten used to the differences between seeing a movie here and in the States, I can say I’ve grown to love Hong Kong’s cinema culture. Although I truly wish the films here were released earlier than they tend to be, I think the city makes up for this shortcoming with its classy theaters, wonderful festivals and relatively inexpensive ticket prices. After the conclusion of the HKIFF, I'm sure I will love it all the more! All in all, this is a great place to see a movie!
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