The durian is a fruit, but it is no green papaya. Prickly and odorous outside, it's nutritious and sweet inside - a delicacy for connoisseurs. Director Fruit Chan uses it as a metaphor for Hong Kong - bitter on the outside but sweet for those who come to know it. Yan, from northern China, is a prostitute in Hong Kong, turning 20 tricks a day between 40 showers. The durian is the catalyst for her meeting with Fan, an eight-year old girl who becomes her friend. When Yan's visa runs out and she returns to China, the gift of a durian from Fan sets her on a new path. Chan's marvelously realistic pictures of Hong Kong and of the Chinese mainland, along with the development of the complex protagonist, Yan, convincingly reveal the contradictions of Hong Kong and contemporary China.

Hong Kong/China, 2000. 116 min.