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Just perfect...

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Multi-layered stories can be very interesting films, provided that the viewer can actually understand everything. Unfortunately, Wayne Wang's "Chinese Box" does not make clear all of the pieces of this film.The film centers around John (Jeremy Irons), a dying British journalist, at the time of the British turnover of Hong Kong to the Chinese. He's in love with Vivian (Gong Li), a Hong Kong resident, who in turn is in love with a powerful businessman. Then there is also Jean (Maggie Cheung), a woman who captures John's interest, and is willing to give him an interview for a price. But is she telling the truth? "Chinese Box" is an enigma, and one could argue that that is the point. But unlike other movies where remaining elusive to the viewer is the goal (like "Donnie Darko"), "Chinese Box" eventually grows boring.The acting is solid. Jeremy Irons is terrific as John. We want him to make it with Vivian because we like him so much. Irons does not go for the tear ducts, nor does he spend the time he has left moping around or spouting philosophical nonsense. John knows he doesn't have much time left, and he spends it doing the two things he really wants: win Vivian's heart back and figure out Jean. There is a reason why Gong Li is considered the Asian Meryl Streep. Li is a amazing actress, but unfortunately, like the film, she remains an enigma. She doesn't have much dialogue, but Li uses her face to express herself. Cheung is also interesting as the feisty Jean. She's actually the polar opposite of Vivian: vocal, emotive, and independent. This is probably why John finds her so interesting.Director Wayne Wang made the hit film "The Joy Luck Club" based on the best-selling novel by Amy Tan, neither of which I have experienced. Whatever rights he did there are not present here. He keeps the characters at an arm's distance, which may be the point, but what we do understand, isn't especially interesting. There are some isolated scenes that work, but over all it's a pretty dull film. The best parts are when we get a peek into the culture of Hong Kong, or what we can gather of it.This isn't an especially interesting film, and not really worth it.

I felt that it's an incomplete story. Some of its scenes have a lot of potential to be better developed. And some of its metaphors are either too ambiguous to understand or too obvious to think much of. But I dont dislike it. They got great actors and actresses there. Maggie is my favorite one.

the movie was neither boring or disgusting. it is a lesser-known gem. people who are motivated in their movie purchases by the attractiveness of the actress or how she looked in what pair of jeans aside. the drama was realistic, the characters were believable, honorable and complex. the soundtrack and sets were splendid too. nobody is claiming it is the best thing ever done, but it is worth two hours. it is thought-provoking if a bit inconclusive (as life is) and should not be written off as trash.

I don't know why, but people on imdb and elsewhere have been very critical of this film. Personally, as someone living in Hong Kong, I think it is both a well made and important film. At the end, the analogy of Gong Li's character starting again, as Hong Kong is starting again, worked well. I think perhaps the only drawback is Maggie Cheung's character, as it seems a little pointless. However, I like nearly everything Jeremy Irons is in - he is really one of the world's best actors. His characters are always people that I can somehow empathise with - they're always very believable and he really carries the film's themes. The idea of setting the film in the six months leading up to Hong Kong's July 1, 1997 handover works well. As Irons' character dies, so does British sovereignty - the Union Jack goes down, the last Governor cries, Gong Li shakes off her long-time sugar daddy. It's a captivating and well-told story of which the Director should be proud, although I read an interview with him a while ago, and he didn't want to talk about the film, since it's upset some people in Hong Kong, I think. This film is certainly better than most rubbish that's made in Hong Kong. I urge you to find a copy and see it.