From the Queen to the Chief Executive (2001)

With From the Queen to the Chief Executive, Herman Yau presents a provocative political and social drama addressing the treatment of Hong Kong prisoners detained at "the Chief Executive's discretion". The term stems from colonial-era detention "at Her Majesty's pleasure" -- incarceration for juvenile offenders without fixed-length terms, in some cases amounting to longer than sentences given to adults convicted for similar crimes.

Based on true events and individuals, the narrative begins six months before the 1997 handover, when student Cheung Yue-ling (Ai-jing) visits a prison to meet an inmate she has been corresponding with. Prose by Cheung Yau-ming (David Lee) had beaten hers in an Open University writing competition and, learning that he is a prisoner, she wants to visit him. As they meet, Yue-ling asks when the young man will be released. Yau-ming cannot answer. As a juvenile offender in a 1985 criminal case, he's being detained indefinitely, hanging in limbo with his case awaiting review.

Yau-ming, along with other juvenile offenders, is seeking determined sentencing before the existing government leaves office. The prisoners are writing to legislators and, with Yue-ling's help, an appeal for assistance is handed to veteran activist and councillor Leung Chung-ken (Stephen Tang). Together, Yue-ling and Leung take up the call to represent their case to Government and the general public, assembling the prisoners' families to hold protests and sit-ins up to a last minute legislative review.

Yau-ming remains the main face of the detainees throughout this adaptation of Elsa Chan's book based on the prisoners' plight. And his past casts a shadow over the depicted campaigning for determined sentencing. Yau-ming is based on Cheung Yau-hang; the second-youngest of five people charged with the sexual assault and murder of two expatriate secondary school students in 1985. While well known to most Hongkongers since the intense media coverage that followed, From the Queen to the Chief Executive's Yue-ling finds out late in the piece. A mainland immigrant who arrived in Hong Kong during her teens, she first reads about the crime in archived newspaper reports prior to the handover. The realisation leads her to abandon the cause in disgust, albeit temporarily, with her thoughts running parallel to public and government sentiment toward violent offenders. Opinion is swung against the campaign -- some prisoners' family members fear public exposure, people on the street lend scant support, Leung's office assistant chooses to quit her post, a prison official suggests the detainees deserve no reprieve and politicians see few votes attracted by supporting prisoners' rights.

The situation parallels, too, the decision to make a feature film on the subject. Cheung Yau-hang's situation alone hardly suggests box office appeal, let alone in a film dealing with prisoners' human rights, making From the Queen to the Chief Executive an exceptional accomplishment for director Yau and his backers to see through from funding to release. The film's presentation never conceals the brutality of the 1985 crime; graphic detail of the double-murder is increasingly exposed simultaneous to depicting the issue of indefinite detention and injustice towards young offenders, all the while acknowledging his crime. The prisoners' situation is meanwhile shown in relation to the transfer of sovereignty and post-'97 indifference, though the film's themes also carry further to encompass child abuse and teen identity issues in not only Yau-ming's past but also Yue-ling's. The councillor is not shown in black and white either, as his marriage fails and the relationship with his son turns for worse.

The story is engaging, aided with compelling fiction in Yue-ling's character as the film relates the main issue without becoming overly heavy-handed. The presentation is appealing without high-profile stars to distract from the film's public interest and campaigning ideals. Well shot and edited together in its time-shifting flashback approaches, the production features strong images as the plot takes its turns. The soundtrack similarly adds interest, with a particularly intriguing set of lyrics against scenes of the handover ceremonies. With its depiction of a failing in prisoners' rights in a transitional Hong Kong, From the Queen to the Chief Executive represents investigative filmmaking seldom approached in current Hong Kong cinema, worthy of viewers' attention and support.

Above: The Imperial Cinema's hand-painted billboard for From the Queen to the Chief Executive.

Note: While based on true events and characters barring Yue-ling, names of the lead prisoner, the councillor and the murdered students are changed in the film.

Related link: The 2001 Far East Film festival in Udine has a published an extensive interview with Herman Yau, who discusses the background for the film, feelings on the subject matter, production research and hunt for funding.

Credits:

Directed by Herman Yau Lai-to
Presented by Charles Heung
Executive producer: Nam Yin
Author and screenplay: Elsa Chan
Art director: Fung Yuen-chi
Cinematographer: Joe Chan
Editor: Chan Ki-hop
Starring Stephen Tang, Ai-jing and David Lee
Presented by Chares Heung