Professor Aaron Magnan-Park explains that there are five relationships in Confucian thinking:
ruler to minister
husband to wife
father to son
elder brother to younger brother
amongst friends
Looking at the different John Woo’s films, the ones below that were made in Hong Kong:
A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow II
The Killer
Bullet in the Head
Hardboil
Discuss why Professor Magnan-Mark asserts that the relationship between friends are important for John Woo.
Explain how friendships are represented in one of the five films mentioned above. You can, of course, discuss,
the plot development, but you should also pay attention how the friendship is represented filmicly – how are the
characters constructed, the looks, how are the characters filmed and framed, what kinds of situation do Woo
put the characters into, etc.
Sample Solution