Charlie's Bubble

Directed by Philip Chan Yan-Kin

The poetry of teenagers in love is one of the most endearing and enduring traditions in cinema. Philip Chan made his solo directorial debut with a film based on his own adolescent fantasy, about a secondary school student who falls in love with his teacher. The teacher happens to be pregnant and, after the kid makes the vow to help her take care of the child, the father reappears to assume his responsibilities…Is teenage bubble going to burst? Chan had the foresight – or was it luck? – to hand over writing chores to Alfred Cheung, who turned the potentially controversial story into a script of nuanced emotions and morality while managing to avoid the sensational. Charlie's Bubble, which escaped critical attention in its initial release, is a work that deserves a second look.