Representations (C2)

• What's the representation of life in Hong Kong?

  Modern experience of living in a highly populated city is one of dislocation - people are cut off from each other, themes of isolation and memory relate to this representation
• Representation of the women in the film is that they're linked by a common instability 


  At various points in the film, they all seem to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown (The partner masturbation scene, Charlie’s erratic behaviour, Blondie with her over-the-top and at times worrying behaviour)
• The representations of men are more low-key, for example 


  The Killer is listless, avoiding emotional ties

  The Mute on the other hand provides light relief in the film with his erratic demeanour, what marks him out as more interesting is his relationship with his father
• What can The Killer be seen to represent?

  He can be seen as Honk-Kong, critic Norris claims postmodernism is a “convenient excuse for political apathy, and...an uncritical, cynical, or nihilistic endorsement of uncontrolled capitalism.” The apathy Norris refers to, relates to the Killer’s passivity - “I'm a lazy person” as justification for killing
• The Killer and The Partner’s relationship is defined by fragmentation 


  Almost meeting, not quite understanding one another but grasping to