Allen Fong’s Just Like Weather is a triumph. Mixing documentary and fiction, the movie follows Christine and Hung-nin, a Hong Kong couple seeking to emigrate to the US. In restoration, the film sees new life.
Hung-nin wants to emigrate not only as a way of seeking better opportunities, but out of a sense of unease about Hong Kong. This is in part, but not only, due to the impending 1997 handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese control. Increasing numbers of Hongkongers, including Hung-nin’s family, have consequently sought to move to the US.
Likewise, Hung-nin is driven to emigrate out of a desire to prove himself. Christine makes more than he does as a real estate agent and supports the family. Consequently, Hung-nin wants to use the move as an opportunity in order to become more independent and self-sustaining—and potentially to reverse the dynamic of dependency that characterizes their relationship.
The movie, then, follows Hung-nin and Christine in the course of a disastrous road trip in the US that runs into inclement weather. The narrative of the movie is also interspersed with interviews of the actors playing Hung-nin and Christine—a real-life couple who are amateur actors. At times, the film further breaks the fourth wall to show the discussion between the actors and filmmakers about how to show certain scenes.
As a result, Just Like Weather is an intricate, metafictional work. In many ways, the synthesis of narrative and documentary echoes contemporary Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Puppetmaster or perhaps Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry. As with other Sinophone New Wave films of the same period, the turn toward amateur actors is presumably in search of authentic performances, enriched by real-life experiences.
But if The Puppetmaster was, in final evaluation, a documentary, Just Like Weather is still ultimately a fictional narrative film—simply one with many more layers of complexity that draw from real life. And yet, in capturing the malaise of the times, or the dynamics of a relationship through hardship, Just Like Weather proves unforgettable.
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Just Like Weather (Chinese: 美國心)—Hong Kong. Dialog in Cantonese and English. Directed by Allen Fong. Running time 1hr 35min. First released 1986. Starring Christine Lee, Chan Hung-nin, Lee Chi-keung, Lam Ying-wah.
This article is part of Cinema Escapist’s dedicated coverage of the 2026 San Diego Asian Film Festival.
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