Love in the buff (2012): The representation and reconstruction of  local identity 

‘Love in the buff’ is a 2012 film which is directed by Pang Ho-cheung and starring by Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yue. It is about a love story between two leading characters. This film has gained a lot of focus since its release in last year. It also won ‘Best Actress’ award in the recent Hong Kong Film Awards. In this review, I will focus on the way how it reconstructs local identity though the idea of ‘local allegory’. 

First of all, the setting of the film reflects the situation of Hong Kong people-working in mainland China. Jimmy Cheung (Shawn Yue) worked as an Account Executive in an advertisement company; Cherie Yu (Miriam Yeung) worked as a salesperson in a cosmetic company. Because of the keen competition with Asian regions, their industries started to wither. So, they were asked to work in Beijing (mainland China). However, they could not accommodate the living style in China.  They still remained their social network as same as Hong Kong. Jimmy always hanged out with Gong Gong (Roy Sze-to) and Cherie (Miriam Yeung) always sticked with Isabell (Isabell Chan) and Brenda.  

Moreover, from the scene that Jimmy was eating the instant Spaghetti Bolognese from Hong Kong convenience store, we can see that he missed Hong Kong food very much. He also mentioned that it was the best food in his mind because it contained his past memories. Two aforementioned examples put individual story to collective experience.  The case of Jimmy and Cherie can be linked to the situation of Hong Kong people who are working in China.  Although they are working in China, they still think Hong Kong is their homeland. So, they should keep their living style in Hong Kong. It brings a message- ‘Hong Kong people are different from mainland Chinese. They should have their own identity and culture. ‘

Apart from the setting, symbolic icons also reinforce the identity of Hong Kong people. In the film, E-kin Cheng was Cherie’s ex-boyfriend. The film always mentioned about his career, such as HI-C lemon tea advertisement and young and dangerous series(古惑仔系列). The appearance of E-kin Cheng recalls collective memories to Hong Kong people. From the beginning of 1990s, Chan Ho Nam (the character which played by E-kin Cheng in the young and dangerous series) has become the icon of Hong Kong film industry. It also led Hong Kong film industry into a new golden age. Moreover, the 1990s was the glorious era of Hong Kong’s economy. Therefore, his occurrence raises the nostalgia of Hong Kong people. It also encourages Hong Kong people to stand up for local identity and culture.

To sum up, ‘Love in the buff’ use the idea of local allegory to represent and reconstruct local identity. It reflects the social problem and the importance of local identity. So, audience can have sympathetic response when they watched this film. So, that is why it has become successful.

Reference

Ashcroft, Bet. (2006). “The post-colonial studies reader” (2^nd ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Love in the buff. 2012. Retrieve from

<http://www.mediaasia.com/loveinthebuff/download/litb_poster2.jpg>

Lo Sin Ting (Annabelle)

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