Fay (Chow Yun-Fat), Nam (Cecilia Yip) and Keung (Alex Man) are three young Hong Kong citizens that becomes friends through their hopes and dreams during the pending invasion by Japan. Nam and Keung are lovers but he's not accepted by her family as a suiting husband. The three takes the strength of their dreams and tries to flee Hong Kong during the invasion but fails to do so. They will have to try and stick together during the dark times that will follow...

Produced by D & B (Dickson Poon and Sammo Hung's production company), Hong Kong 1941 is a splendid example of finely tuned storytelling but even more, a superior showcase of what you can achieve on a low budget. Told in flashback with voice-over by Cecilia Yip's character to guide us along, this drama beginning just a few days before Japan's occupation of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941 begins quietly enough, almost pleasant. This is one of many moods that the film will go through and it does so remarkably well.

Director Po Chi-Leung first faces the task of getting the main characters Fay, Nam and Keung together and we couldn't ask for a more natural meeting between the three. These times prior to the invasion are portrayed as not oppressed times but clearly tense ones. That means that the Hong Kong people are seen as joyous in bursts but inside, quite strongly so, they are dreaming of a better living somewhere else in the world. Hong Kong definitely already is a harsh place to live in, jobs are few, pay is low and the rice hard to come by. There's an early scene where Chow Yun-Fat's character, the incredibly good hearted anchor of this film, tries to smuggle himself out of Hong Kong by boat but is there immediately faced with being an underdog in order to get out. No difference than staying and not what the dream of going to Gold Mountain, as he describes it, is all about. Instead through the pain and good times, he gets aquatinted with two young lovers that are the picture perfect image of hope still brewing, even if they somewhat share the mindset many Hong Kong people are in at this point.

The mood set by Po Chi-Leung isn't about the oppression, the poverty or depression and compared to what we're going to see, it's kind of lighthearted and suitably low key. Only at times throughout the movie, the melodrama kicks into high gear but the directorial choices are so spot on throughout. When Hong Kong 1941 then shows the invasion of Hong Kong by Japan (through a wonderful sequence that can't show too much because of the low budget but doesn't have to) the film turns more grim and if the darkness had a bit of joy prior, it's that that holds the horror now. Hong Kong people are forced to divert from British laws and ways (even street signs are changed to feature Chinese writing only) and with that comes an anarchy that turns the people against themselves, just so you can have your rice for instance. The director isn't always concentrating on Fay, Nam and Keung but makes sure he conveys their development through all this eventually. Most of the people around turns selfish quick but these young ones do not. They instead, mainly Fay, uses the invasion to their advantage and still keeps dreaming despite many hardships along the way.

I described the first part of the movie as being lighthearted while the second really holds some disturbing violence and imagery. The anarchy generates looting, meaningless raping of the country and the critique presented by the filmmakers is a valid one. They don't take sides, to me it seems like that anyway, because it's equally a comment on how Hong Kong people turn bad but obviously it is due to the invasion of a foreign force. The event presented in the film are true still today, it's human nature like it's always been. As we roll along, we realize that the running time is filled with surprises. We're not seeing a conventional narrative and all up to the end there are revelations, shocks and character development of the highest level to keep us interested. It's a story that deals with what it takes to survive and while, as I described, very much low-key, it hits you where it aims; the head, the stomach and the heart.

The production design or rather the standing design is a star in its own in Hong Kong 1941. You can almost draw comparisons to another D & B classic, also starring Chow Yun-Fat, An Autumn's Tale. That production also utilized an already standing design, New Your city, to superb effect. Same is true for this movie and Po Chi-Leung here uses the run down architecture of Macau for his 1940s Hong Kong in a state of poverty. It's really believable and another reason why the film is so involving. Lai Siu-Ming's awardwinning cinematography captures all this wonderfully well. It's clean, crisp and very natural looking. Again, farfetched, but also something applicable to An Autumn's Tale.

Po Chi-Leung himself appears in the movie as a crazy old man everyone calls The Emperor. Totally insane but his direction of actors is far from that. He gets a natural and expressive performance from a relatively newcomer at that time, Cecilia Yip as Nam. You couldn't ask for a better look either as she's young, innocent looking and looks perfect standing next to either of her co-stars, Alex Man being one of them. I was only familiar with him through his bad guy turns in the average triad movies Rich & Famous and Tragic Hero so it wasn't with a whole lot of positive remarks about him that I went into Hong Kong 1941. Alex was an experienced TV-actor before and the slightly ruffian character is in good hands. There's an ignorance in him and he's someone not too far off the criminal side. He longs more than the others and becomes irrational at times because of it. You understand why Nam is in love with him though since he has a very sincere and loveable side to him despite shortcomings.

I wouldn't say the movie belongs to Chow Yun-Fat but he certainly makes an impression from frame one. You know perfectly well the different accolades he has received over the years regarding his acting and it applies to Hong Kong 1941 as well. Charismatic, suave, handsome and the character of Fay is one with a truly good heart. He represents one of the few Hong Kong people didn't become unselfish or gave up. However, as with other oppressed people throughout history, many didn't have a choice so it's not like the other citizens are totally unsympathetic in their ways. With Chow, director Po Chi-Leung effectively toys with the audience in terms of where the love triangle is going and Chow's strength at conveying those subtle but ever so important beats is nothing short of perfect. Stuart Ong, Wu Ma, Paul Chun and Sek Kin makes for a superb supporting cast as well.

Hong Kong Legends wisely choose not to market Hong Kong 1941 as an action film, despite the 18 rating by the BBFC. They instead gave the film a chance to strike a chord with the crowd that perhaps knew of or wanted to see who Chow Yun-Fat REALLY was. That's not neglecting the other strengths of the film though. It's an 80s drama classic with rare attention to detail in every department.