"To Liv(e) was inspired by actress Liv Ullmann's 1990 visit to Hong Kong, where she decried the forced deportation of 51 Vietnamese refugees. This, coupled with the Tiananmen Square the year before, contributes to a dark cloud of apprehension that shades this film as the British Crown colony faces imminent takeover by China in 1997. Made for a mere $150,000, To Liv(e) is filled with the kind of style, performances and ambition one might expect from a film critic turned filmmaker, and for which no apologies need be made...With a painter's eye in capturing the bohemian fringe of the Hong Kong art scene, and the mature voice of a seasoned filmmaker, Chan examines love, family and the fate of Hong Kong, and the culture clash between East and West with equal depth and assurance."
--- The Hollywood Reporter
"...an engaging family melodrama, interspersed with imaginary letters to Liv Ullmann...Low budget indie...boasts accomplished lensing and editing. Lindzay Chan, who won acting award at the 1991 Portugal Sintra Festival, toplines a uniformly good cast."
--- Variety
|
|
"...a painful and funny family melodrama...reminiscent of John Casasvetes' best work."
--- Metro Magazine, Australia
"...clearly inspired by Bergman's existential angst...and Godard's cinematic experimentation...a unique encounter between East and West..."
--- Aftenposten, Norway
"...compelling images and thought about a place trapped in super-power diplomacy."
--- L.A. Weekly
 |
Evans Chan's To Liv(e): Screenplay and Essays (edited by Wong Tak-wai), a bilingual edition, has been published by the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong in 1996. It can be ordered at http://www.hkupress.org or e-mail hralwtw@hkucc.hku.hk