Opening with a subjective long take slithering through Soho’s Chinatown, which ends up in a close-up of a man died inside a telephone booth, British-Chinese filmmaker Leong Po-Chih’s PING PONG is a rara avis that plumbs into the head space of UK’s Chinese enclave.
The dead man is Sam Wong (K.C. Leong), a well-to-do restaurateur, but the film doesn’t intend to dwell on the circumstances of his death, but, in the wake of that, the execution of his testament, which falls on the shoulders of a tenderfoot law clerk Elaine Choi (Sheen), who is terminally stalwart to see that she can get the job done, including settling the legal procedures of sending Wong’s body back to Toisan, China, and finding out who is the mysterious legatee of Wong’s sportster, a woman named Sara Lee (Hammond).
But the lion’s share of her endeavor is involved functioning as an intermediary among Wong’s clan (he is survived by a wife, 3 adult children, one from a prior marriage), which is awash with internal strifes relative to Sam’s will, hence, the film’s title, alluding to Elaine’s oscillating role in her pursuance.
Political angle aside, sideswipes about China’s communist apparat are only to be expected, PING PONG primarily earns its stripes as a treatise about a young British-Chinese woman’s double consciousness in forging her own identity in an occidental capital without obliterating her ethnic roots, like the “woman warrior” she watches on television or reads in the picture-story books when she was young, Elaine is fascinated by her cultural background, but at the same time, as a modern woman, she is dismissive of its shibboleth, so revered by the older generation, perhaps, that is why she finds kindred spirit in Sam’s younger son Mike (Yip, the most naturalistic performer among the fold), who looks totally anglicized on the surface, which, in time, will be encroached by the oriental filial obligation.
Sporting a plummy British accent, Sheen’s Elaine is jaunty and confident when she is in the line of duty, but, like most of the rest cast, hokes a bit whenever Leong’s direction sags. The bum note is the erratic editing rhythm, sometimes, a conversation is cut short abruptly, or the camera overstays its welcome on the players who seem to have just finished his or her lines and their reactive impulse is unstimulated, for example, the sequences pertaining to a meshuga Mr. Chen (Robert Lee, in his swan song), the old friend of Sam, are taxing to sit through, not for its length, but an unmoderated monotony.
That said, PING PONG still can be ranked as a hidden gem of the world cinema, not merely on the strength of its subject matters, Leong’s dexterity (a well-concocted location shot taking place in the same place with different temporal slots is spliced seamlessly), but also for its prescience-laced mystique revealed in the coda, to its western audience, it introduces a mythical culture that cannot be more different from theirs, but for those who are from the east, it also hits the bull-eye of enacting a vicarious displacement that is one of the wellsprings of cinematic imagination.
referential entries: John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986, 4.9/10); Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL (2019, 7.8/10).
电影本身也因此无法被归类，其错综复杂的结构和庞大的演员阵容使其能够在短短片刻内从新黑色电影（neo-noir）转变为风俗喜剧（comedy of manners），导演梁普智（Po-Chih Leong）甚至加入了一部虚构的武侠片以增添趣味。剧情像一个复杂的拼图一样展开：随着Elaine Choi拜访王家的每个成员，关于遗嘱、彼此关系，他们自己身份的新细节逐渐浮出水面。
在王家的叙事中，Elaine Choi作为一个外来者，不仅充当了观众的替身，还作为电影突显每个角色神经质特点的媒介。我们见到了王家传统的女婿，他向儿子们提问中国的四大发明；相比之下，王家小儿子Mike（叶西园 David Yip 饰）带有英国上层社会口音，对父亲在唐人街的生意嗤之以鼻，而选择经营一个面向白人客户的高档意大利酒吧。
Opening with a subjective long take slithering through Soho’s Chinatown, which ends up in a close-up of a man died inside a telephone booth, British-Chinese filmmaker Leong Po-Chih’s PING PONG is a rara avis that plumbs into the head space of UK’s Chinese enclave.
The dead man is Sam Wong (K.C. Leong), a well-to-do restaurateur, but the film doesn’t intend to dwell on the circumstances of his death, but, in the wake of that, the execution of his testament, which falls on the shoulders of a tenderfoot law clerk Elaine Choi (Sheen), who is terminally stalwart to see that she can get the job done, including settling the legal procedures of sending Wong’s body back to Toisan, China, and finding out who is the mysterious legatee of Wong’s sportster, a woman named Sara Lee (Hammond).
But the lion’s share of her endeavor is involved functioning as an intermediary among Wong’s clan (he is survived by a wife, 3 adult children, one from a prior marriage), which is awash with internal strifes relative to Sam’s will, hence, the film’s title, alluding to Elaine’s oscillating role in her pursuance.
Political angle aside, sideswipes about China’s communist apparat are only to be expected, PING PONG primarily earns its stripes as a treatise about a young British-Chinese woman’s double consciousness in forging her own identity in an occidental capital without obliterating her ethnic roots, like the “woman warrior” she watches on television or reads in the picture-story books when she was young, Elaine is fascinated by her cultural background, but at the same time, as a modern woman, she is dismissive of its shibboleth, so revered by the older generation, perhaps, that is why she finds kindred spirit in Sam’s younger son Mike (Yip, the most naturalistic performer among the fold), who looks totally anglicized on the surface, which, in time, will be encroached by the oriental filial obligation.
Sporting a plummy British accent, Sheen’s Elaine is jaunty and confident when she is in the line of duty, but, like most of the rest cast, hokes a bit whenever Leong’s direction sags. The bum note is the erratic editing rhythm, sometimes, a conversation is cut short abruptly, or the camera overstays its welcome on the players who seem to have just finished his or her lines and their reactive impulse is unstimulated, for example, the sequences pertaining to a meshuga Mr. Chen (Robert Lee, in his swan song), the old friend of Sam, are taxing to sit through, not for its length, but an unmoderated monotony.
That said, PING PONG still can be ranked as a hidden gem of the world cinema, not merely on the strength of its subject matters, Leong’s dexterity (a well-concocted location shot taking place in the same place with different temporal slots is spliced seamlessly), but also for its prescience-laced mystique revealed in the coda, to its western audience, it introduces a mythical culture that cannot be more different from theirs, but for those who are from the east, it also hits the bull-eye of enacting a vicarious displacement that is one of the wellsprings of cinematic imagination.
referential entries: John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986, 4.9/10); Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL (2019, 7.8/10).
（原文By Ian Wang，豆友仅搬运&翻译）
英国华人电影的历史是怎样的呢？回答这个问题是一项棘手的任务，因为屏幕上的英国华人历史必然也是英国对华恐惧症(British Sinophobia)的历史。是应该从20世纪20年代，以哈里·阿格·里昂（Harry Agar Lyon）扮演的傅满洲为标志，体现了最糟糕的黄祸恐慌（Yellow Peril）开始吗？我们应该承认郭弼（Burt Kwouk）或周采芹（Tsai Chin）在60年代取得的成就吗？尽管他们的作品中经常充斥着有害的刻板印象？虽然过去十年中涌现了像陈静（Gemma Chan）这样真正的明星，但主演角色仍然很少，幕后机会更是少之又少。
在这种背景下，1986年上映的第一部由英国华裔导演拍摄的长片《浮云游子》就显得格外特别。它讲述的不是单一的英国华人人物故事，而是涵盖了23个人，代表了不同的背景、年代和语言。影片的中心人物是年迈的餐馆老板 Sam Wong，他死在了 Soho 的一个电话亭里。当他的家人为他的遗嘱条款争执不休时，实习律师Elaine Choi（露西·辛 Lucy Sheen饰）只能在唐人街四分五裂的社区中艰难前行，收拾残局。
《浮云游子》的深刻之处不在于它试图为广大观众界定英国华人的身份，而在于它如何表达了在所代表的多元社区中定义这样的身份是多么具有挑战性和难以捉摸。举例来说，七岁从澳门移民到英国的Choi几乎不会说一句广东话，更不用说普通话了。当一名中国大使馆工作人员建议她 "回到你的祖国"，与她的传统重新建立联系时，她打趣道："哪个祖国？
电影本身也因此无法被归类，其错综复杂的结构和庞大的演员阵容使其能够在短短片刻内从新黑色电影（neo-noir）转变为风俗喜剧（comedy of manners），导演梁普智（Po-Chih Leong）甚至加入了一部虚构的武侠片以增添趣味。剧情像一个复杂的拼图一样展开：随着Elaine Choi拜访王家的每个成员，关于遗嘱、彼此关系，他们自己身份的新细节逐渐浮出水面。
在王家的叙事中，Elaine Choi作为一个外来者，不仅充当了观众的替身，还作为电影突显每个角色神经质特点的媒介。我们见到了王家传统的女婿，他向儿子们提问中国的四大发明；相比之下，王家小儿子Mike（叶西园 David Yip 饰）带有英国上层社会口音，对父亲在唐人街的生意嗤之以鼻，而选择经营一个面向白人客户的高档意大利酒吧。
最重要的是，影片没有表现出任何人比其他人更像中国人或更不像中国人；也没有那种经常困扰移民叙事的自我陶醉式的身份反思。相反，《浮云游子》简单地呈现了英国华人生活的原貌：嗜赌者、攀附者（social climbers）、非法移民和医生都是同一幅丰富而混乱的画卷的一部分。
考虑到《浮云游子》的诸多首创之处（它也是第一部在伦敦唐人街拍摄的电影），人们很容易将其视为独一无二、前所未见的隐藏珍品。但这只是横跨 80 年代的英国华人银幕创作浪潮的波峰。例如，叶西园（David Yip）因出演英国广播公司（BBC）的警匪片《中华侦探》（The Chinese Detective.）而为电视观众所熟知。该剧不仅选择了一位华裔演员出演主角——这已经比陈查理（Charlie Chan）有所进步！——而且放弃了功夫刻板印象，转而选择了一位聪明、有魅力的侦探，而这种角色几乎总是由白人演员出演。
1982年Channel 4电视台的推出同样对帮助建立英国华人人才产生了关键影响。除了共同资助《浮云游子》外，该电视台还支持制作了迈克·纽厄尔（Mike Newell）于1988年执导的电影《酸甜》（Soursweet），这部电影改编自英国华人作家毛翔青（Timothy Mo）的同名小说。
因此，《浮云游子》并非偶然事件，也并非被遗忘，而是被抛弃了。尽管该片在 1987 年威尼斯电影节上获得了成功，但反响平平。短短几年内，英国华人演员的机会几乎消失殆尽。"到了 20 世纪 90 年代，一切似乎都停滞了。" Sheen在 2012 年的一次小组讨论中说道。在此期间涌现出来的英国华人文化人物，比如梁佩诗饰演的Cho Chang，要么被边缘化，要么被嘲笑。直到2015年，《浮云游子》才通过BFI Player广泛上线。
80 年代的小小成功以及随后的停滞，与英国银幕上展现地种族进步的简单叙事并不相符。遗憾的是，为《浮云游子》提供的资金支持和机构认可并没有延伸到罗莎·方婷（Rosa Fong）和Lab Ky Mo等英国华裔电影人身上。在 90 年代和 00 年代，这些电影人在获得行业支持方面依然面临挑战。
这个教训在当前变得更加重要，因为进入2020年代，一批新兴的英国华人电影人开始崭露头角，他们在面对与Covid有关的种族主义时日益政治化，而且通常与其他东亚和东南亚社区（ESEA）团结一致。像BEATS这样的支持团体以《浮云游子》作为代表性的标杆，对电视上的殖民主义辩护提出质疑，而许泰丰（Hong Khaou）和郭小橹（Xiaolu Guo）等导演则成为艺术电影领域的中流砥柱。
然而，取得这一成功的条件令人担忧。有多少 ESEA 演员为了获得认可而不得不漂洋过海，在漫威电影宇宙中扮演平淡无奇的配角？有多少制片公司和投资者愿意支持那些具有实验性、突破性或政治性的ESEA电影制作？为什么仍然没有电影记录 ESEA 的历史，比如利物浦中国海员被驱逐出境的事件？
回答这些问题可能意味着需要重新审视《浮云游子》这样的电影中不加修饰的独立性。尽管这部电影有其不足之处，但它具有一种富有创造力和颠覆性的热情，而新一代 ESEA 电影制作人尚未完全释放出这种热情的潜力。建立一个持久的 ESEA 电影运动可能意味着摆脱商业成功的束缚，甚至摆脱电影本身的传统，转而寻求一种新的电影语言，以表达EASA群体美丽而矛盾的真相。只有当我们对资助方、机构以及最重要的是我们自己提出这样的要求时，我们才能真正开始书写我们自己的电影史。
不久前刚刚结束的奥斯卡，让我们见证了杨紫琼成为第一位华人奥斯卡影后的历史时刻，而华裔班底主导的《瞬息全宇宙》也完成了11提7中的壮举。这个颁奖季与《瞬》相关的各种奖项记录太多了，可以说是振奋人心的盛事。纵观好莱坞历史，其实华人的身影也是一直很有存在感，二十年代大火的女星黄柳霜，六十年代飘洋过海创出名堂的李小龙，八十年代开始把港式动作片推往好莱坞的成龙为代表的一众动作巨星，以及近年的《摘金奇缘》、《别告诉她》、《瞬息全宇宙》等大获成功也证明了美国本土华裔的创作力是好莱坞市场所需要的。
一般提到全华班底的主流英语片，我们一般会提到《喜福会》(1993)，高质量的众女群戏至今仍让观众津津乐道。但除了美国好莱坞，其实英国更早的时候也拍过全华班底的主流片，只是当时缺少明星加持让其成为了历史长河的细沙。
今天，字幕组的新作是八十年代的《浮云游子》（英文名Ping Pong）。故事讲述了伦敦唐人街富商王山姆，神秘的死在电话亭中，他在死前立下了一份非常奇怪的遗嘱，引起全家人百般的猜疑。女主作为见习律师，因为早期的交集而被卷入了这场遗产风波。电影以一个主观的长镜头在soho区的唐人街上滑动开场，然后以一个死在电话亭里的人的特写结束，但片子本身却是走轻喜剧+轻悬疑路线。通过一场遗产案，明线探讨西化的移民二代代和移民一代的家庭和解（这点和《瞬息》其实有共同之处）暗线则是关注一个年轻的英籍华人女性在西方世界的身份政治问题，同时又不抹杀她的民族根源性。
以下再简单介绍以下导演吧。梁普智，一个非常冷门的名字，但他和港片其实渊源甚深。1939年11月30日出生于英国伦敦，大学主修哲学，又曾在伦敦电影学院进修电影。1976年开始执导电影，第一部作品就是和萧芳芳联导的《跳灰》(这片也是萧芳芳几十年演艺生涯唯一执导的作品)，成为香港新派警匪片的先锋作。在周润发早年票房毒药时期，他执导的《等待黎明》给发哥带来了金马金像双料提名，最后发哥也收获了第一座金马影帝。其后的《杀之恋》也促成了张国荣和钟楚红第一次银幕搭档。本片则是他在港片时期抽空回英国的一次英语片尝试，以成品质量来看的话，这算是一次不错的尝试。