Film review –Office

Film review –Office

Office which is directed by Johnnie To is a 2015 Hong Kong musical comedy-drama film. Chow Yun –fat and Sylvia Chang are the leading actors and actresses. Office is talking about a billion-dollar company Jones & Sunn wanting to go public, but it is hit by subprime mortgage crisis and the financial crisis. Finally, the company is fail to go public because of seniors’ greedy and quirkiness. The film also presents that everyone wants to catch and achieve their dream. However, only a few people can succeed and most of them will get lost.

“Collective memory is not a given but rather a socially constructed notion” (Halbwachs & Coser, 1992, p.22). Therefore, if individuals have those memory, they are as group members (Halbwachs, 1980). The setting of the film is in 2008, the company is suffered from the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Many employees are living in a fearful atmosphere because they are scared the volatile stock market and afraid they will be demoted, or even be laid off. In Hong Kong, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is one of the HongKongers’ collective memories. Hong Kong was a region to issue the largest mini-bond and it caused numerous people lost their life savings. Many victims held protests to criticize the opacity of the banks' operations and called for refunds for several years. Some collective memories are added in this film in order to arouse the resonance among the audience.

Individuals construct their identities through discourse and participation in social practices (Auer, 2007, p.59). In this film, most of the staff catch trains, squeeze into overcrowded trains, walk as fast as possible and spend lots of their time to work. Some employees hope to have an opportunities for upward mobility so they always work day and night, compare their work performance with others and face lots of pressure. In order to reduce pressure, females tend to spend their salary to buy luxury goods, whereas males prefer spend their time to have a drink after work. These behaviors are totally reflecting today Hong Kong society which is a hustle and bustle city. Hong Kong people are used to talk, eat and walk quickly so as to finish their work as soon as possible. Therefore, Hong Kong people’s identities are constructed by the participation in social practices.

Andrew Sarris pointed out that a director tends to present his or her own ideals, style and thoughts on the films (Barrett, 1973). However, in this film, it less shows auteur theory. Although Johnnie To is director, the story is mainly created by Sylvia Chang. Johnnie To favors shooting crime films, but Office is not mainly focusing on crime. For the auteur’s style, it seems like Sylvia Chang’s style because she loves performing stage dramas and singing. Thus, Office is a musical stage drama and includes lots of songs.

To conclude, the film maker tends to use collective memory to arouse the resonance among the audience. The film also stress that Hong Kong people can construct their identities through the participation in social practices. However, Office is not very clear to show auteur theory because it seems not like director’s style.

References

Auer, P. (2007). Style and social identities: Alternative approaches to linguistic heterogeneity (Vol. 18). Walter de Gruyter.

Barrett, G. (1973). Andrew Sarris Interview: October 16, 1972 (Part One). Literature/Film Quarterly, 195-205.

Halbwachs, M. (1980). The collective memory. Harper & Row.

Halbwachs, M., & Coser, L. A. (1992). On collective memory. University of Chicago Press.

Chui Ka Ki 10621155, 21621565