Soursweet, British drama on Hong Kong immigrants, showed grim reality of their new lives
Soursweet (1988), about a Hong Kong family’s UK struggles, was a progressive film, despite the narrative controlled by its British makers
This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.
Founded in 1982 as an offshoot of Channel 4, Film4 was committed to reinvigorating British cinema by platforming new voices and exploring complex, contemporary subjects. The 1988 immigration drama Soursweet is a prime example.
Although well made and well intentioned, the film has the strange distinction of having almost no Chinese people behind the camera. Not that it stopped the careers of its key figures from soaring.
Director Mike Newell would go on to make the international smashes Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Meanwhile, screenwriter Ian McEwan would prove himself one of the UK’s greatest novelists with Enduring Love, Amsterdam and Atonement, among others.