Film Review: From the Queen to the Chief Executive (2001) An Alternative to Kung fu Films
Updated: Oct 14, 2021
#FilmReview #FromtheQueentotheChiefExecutive #影評 #等候董建華發落
Image of Hong Kong ''Opposition''
From the Queen to the Chief Executive (Dir. Herman Yau Lai To; 2001) is Herman Yau's greatest film because it actually touched the real political issue, perfectly created the typical image of the Hong Kong opposition and provided alternative to Kung fu action flicks in general.
''At Her Majesty's pleasure'' is this film's main topic. In the ex-British colony Hong Kong, young offenders unlimitedly had been prisoned for their committed crimes before their term of imprisonment is settled. It caused that these young offenders who needed ''Her Majesty's pleasure'' to be released ended up endless sentence or longer sentence than adult offenders.
It is an abstracted ''human rights'' issue in the prison during the historical transition. This abstracted view on social issues is opposition's feature until today. Like one of the protagonists, a lawmaker Liang Zhongqin (Stephen Tang) who is a fictional avatar of the real opposition figure Leung Yiu-chung gives up the labor movement for the working class, instead he finds this abstracted human rights issue among the young offenders in prison.
Some lawmaker in this film opposes Liang Zhongqin and the mainland girl Cheung Yue-ling (Jing Ai) says: ''Yes, these prisoners are seriously thinking about the law and their own rights but they do not even think about how their victims' families feel on their committed crimes.'' This is a powerful dramatic line on human rights abstractionism of the opposition parties of Hong Kong. Herman Yau beautifully dealt with this political conflict.
Story Structure
ACT1: Braemar Hill murders occurred on April 20, 1985. Five local young gangsters killed the British couple on Braemar Hill. The protagonist Zhang Youming (David Lee) is one of them and "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure" for their crimes. Another protagonist the mainland girl Cheung Yue-ling (Jing Ai) who moves to the dreadful city Hong Kong with her mother to live with her father in law tries murdering her mother after her sex affair with her father in law is found. This incident leads her to be independent from the family. Inciting Incident is that Cheung Yue-ling visits Shek Pik Prison to interact with the writing contest champion, prisoner Zhang Youming for curiosity and respect. At the end of ACT1, Cheung Yue-ling goes to find some help from local lawmaker, such as labor rights lawmaker Liang Zhongqin (Stephen Tang) to solve these young prisoners' unsettled term of imprisonment.
ACT2: Labor rights lawmaker Liang Zhongqin (Stephen Tang) and his assistants are not willing to take the case. After repetitive failures of labor demonstrations and Cheung Yue-ling's persuasion, Liang Zhongqin decides to help these young prisoners who "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure."
Midpoint: Liang Zhongqin and Cheung Yue-ling call parents of these young prisoners who "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure" to take actions. Then they face conflicts with other citizens, lawmakers who oppose and misunderstand their political attitude toward prisoners' human rights issues. At the end of ACT2, Cheung Yue-ling loses faith in her political stance when her study on the Braemar Hill murders at library. Liang Zhongqin also fails to appeal for revision of the regulation on young prisoners at Legislative Council of Hong Kong before 1997.
