Made In Hong Kong

A low low-budget handheld post-colonial glimpse of Hong Kong through the eyes of a teenage street punk has the energy of desperation about it. His girlfriend is dying of a kidney disease, while he fantasises about another, who threw herself off a high building.

Out of need, rather than desire, he lives with his mother and works for a loan shark as a debt collector, which demands rough tactics. Although affected by the aggravation of being young, poor and without prospects, he tries to do the right thing. He needs money for the kidney transplant operation and so accepts a contract to kill someone, beginning a spiral of violence that ends in mayhem.

Fruit Chan directs at full tilt, creating a miasma of imagery that pollutes the senses. It is not easy to follow and harder to enjoy, although its rawness has an honesty that is admirable.