ASIA 325 Hong Kong Cinema – Creative Project
A Creative Response to John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow
By Apanuba Puhama, Hana Chan, and Nico Oribello
“A Better Tomorrow is a blending of cinematic experiences that tells a story that intertwines genres to create a thrilling story. This mixture allows for the film to introduce several themes that enhance the overall experience of the film both technically and narratively. We highlighted four themes and genres that were integral to the film; romance, horror, animation, and documentary styles. We felt that each of these themes provided a unique approach for audiences to experience it as a whole. Romance fleshed out characters to appear as empathetic and compassionate while horror approaches allowed for the tension between them to overwhelm viewers. The documentary genre proved to set up realism within the film while animation-inspired approaches balanced the film allowing for theatrics to be present in a gritty, violent environment. Essentially, A Better Tomorrow created a dynamic that allowed for different genres to shine without feeling too forced as if it was natural for audiences to be pulled in opposing directions. This diverse ensemble of styles only amplified the cinematic experience for all.” — Project Rationale