What differs this joint Chinese-Hong Kong production from the rest of the joint Chinese-Hong Kong productions is that this one is one of the first that a Hong Kong director who was not pro-China was allowed to have the right to direct in China.
Previously, only pro-China directors were given such rights, or at least those directors who were considered by others as pro-China, for example, Mr. Han-Hsiang Li, the greatest and most famous director of Hong Kong, whose work was unfortunately banned in Taiwan during the 1980's because the nationalists considered him of being too close to communists, even though he was purely for business. Although the director in this case was not as close to China as Mr. Li, he was at least considered neutral by others.
The importance of this movie is hence not in what it depicts, but in the fact that the permission of being directed by somebody not close to communist regime symbolized a tiny, yet important step toward political liberalization.
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