ABSTRACT
The interactions between Hong Kong and Japanese fi lmmakers were positive in the 1950s. Both Cantonese and Mandarin cinemas had developed new relationships with their Japanese counterparts:1 Cantonese movies such as Fushishan zhi lian (Romance of Fuji Mountain) (1954/Mok Hong-si) and Duanhong lingyan ji (The Lone Swan) (1955/Lee Sun-fung) were shot in Japan; three major Mandarin companies, namely Xinhua, Shaw Brothers, and Motion Pictures and General Investment Co. Ltd (or MP&GI), began to collaborate with the Japanese frequently. Considering how weak and negative the connection between Hong Kong and Japan had been before, this change seems sudden and dramatic. The underlying historical factors therefore deserve a closer look.
