A nameless cowboy (Spencer Nakasako) arrives in Hong Kong to deliver a briefcase to a local crime kingpin, where he falls in love with the gangster’s mistress (Cora Miao). Wayne Wang plays fast and loose with genre, using DIY aesthetics as he blurs the lines between gangster film and political polemic. Wang introduces us to a rogue’s gallery of Hong Kong’s social classes just before the Handover back to mainland China. A delirious noir that functions as an elegy to a Hong Kong that has long since disappeared, and a gem of independent cinema waiting to be rediscovered on the big screen.

Content warning: The film contains documentary footage from a Hong Kong livestock market. Some viewers may find the scenes upsetting.

Life is Cheap…But Toilet Paper is Expensive… was restored by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts in collaboration with University of California Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Funding provided by Ron and Suzanne Naples. Restoration and remastering supervised by Ross Lipman in consultation with Wayne Wang.

Screening as part of Restored and Rediscovered. Multi-film pass available.