The Happenings (1980)
Directed by Yim Ho
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Synopsis by Eleanor Mannikka
Bits and pieces of a rootless night are never fully brought together as a group of four young men and two women meet in a disco and then on leaving, get into trouble. Their names (King Kong, The Kid, Peter Pan), their attitudes, and their hip clothing reveal heavy-duty borrowings from Europe and the U.S. As the group slowly coalesces at the disco they decide to leave, and then circumstances lead to something disastrous -- they rob a gas station. While the robbery is in progress the attendant is killed and the six run away in a stolen car, looking for a place to hide from the police. The meaningless end to their night out, and its violence, are a part of a larger package that raises questions about Hong Kong and its future.