Film and Constitutional Controversy
Visualizing Hong Kong Identity in the Age of 'One Country, Two Systems'

Constructs an original dialogue between constitutional law, film, and identity by using Hong Kong as a case study.

Marco Wan (Author)

9781108495776, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 February 2021

300 pages
25 x 17.6 x 1.5 cm, 0.5 kg

'This is a unique contribution to studies on the cultural identity of Hong Kong society, on its close connection to the rule-of-law tradition, and on its expression in 'constitutional cinematography': a group of leading films illustrating how law is built into the very core of culture and identity. It documents the drama of absorption and resistance in the complex landscape of the 'One Country - Two Systems' scheme. Wan's analysis is more relevant today than ever before.' Lech Garlicki, retired Judge of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Poland; Professor Emeritus, University of Warsaw; Visiting Professor, Washington University in St. Louis and University of Hong Kong

In modern-day Hong Kong, major constitutional controversies have caused people to demonstrate on the streets, immigrate to other countries, occupy major thoroughfares, and even engage in violence. These controversies have such great resonance because they put pressure on a cultural identity made possible by, and inseparable from, the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework. Hong Kong is also a city synonymous with film, ranging from commercial gangster movies to the art cinema of Wong Kar-wai. This book argues that while the importance of constitutional controversies for the process of self-formation may not be readily discernible in court judgments and legislative enactments, it is registered in the diverse modes of expression found in Hong Kong cinema. It contends that film gives form to the ways in which Hong Kong identity is articulated, placed under stress, bolstered, and transformed in light of disputes about the nature and meaning of the city's constitutional documents.

1. Love in a Time of Transition: Ng See-yuen's The Unwritten Law
2. Laughing at the Law: Johnnie To's Justice, My Foot!
3. Women's Rights and Censorship: Andrew Lau's Raped by an Angel
4. The Common Law After 1997: Joe Ma's Lawyer, Lawyer
5. A Matter of National Security: Tammy Cheung's July
6. Choosing the Leader: Chief Executive Elections and Hong Kong Gangster Films
7. Scenes From a Traumatic Event: Documenting Occupy Central (with Observations on Cinema and the Anti-Extradition Bill Protests)
8. Coda: Wong Kar-wai's 2046
Bibliography
Filmography
Index.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Sociology [JHB], Literature & literary studies [D], Films, cinema [APF]