A school system is put to the test in Kiwi Chow’s mystery thriller.
Kiwi Chow is no stranger to controversy. His filmography is loaded with criticisms of the Hong Kong government and its many branches and many of them have seen bans by Beijing and the sweeping National Security Law. In the collaboration anthology Ten Years, Chow told a story of a Hong Kong fully under the rule of the CCP; 2019’s Revolution of our Times told the story of the 2019 protests – both films were swiftly banned. The trend continues with his latest film, harsh critique of the Hong Kong education system Deadline.
En Shan High School, in Taiwan, is prestigious academy with high tech systems and even higher aspirations for its students. The clinical, unfeeling, results-driven world pushes its students to their limits, often encouraging them to take various meds to help with the workload. As final exams approach, flyers begin cascading from the ceiling, threatening a student’s suicide if this keeps up. This action causes cracks to show in the system, creating a chain reaction that results in chaos and tragedy.
It’s worth noting that this movie despite being a critique of Hong Kong, it filmed and set in Taiwan. And it’s no accident, of course. A film like this was never going to be allowed to be made, especially with lead actor Anthony Wong’s historical issues with both his own and the mainland government. It’s a shame, really, because this film should be seen by Hong Kongers, and anyone who has experienced an education system that glorifies scores, university placements and a future in one of the country’s top 10 businesses.
It’s a system that’s built on success at the cost of everything else a child might want to do. And the film reflects this not only in the way the children miserably slave away at coursework, but also in everything about this school. The drab décor, the complete lack of colour anywhere, the constant surveillance under the watchful eye of the terribly-named iSmart system. The whole thing is bleak, down to the sometimes alien, distant ways in which characters communicate with each other. It’s unsettling, sometimes accidentally, and this might put some people off. I know it took me a hot minute to get into it.
Nevertheless, the film showcases a school and a system that are antithetical to someone like Chow, who values expression and certainly not nearly killing yourself with pills just to get a high grade in a government scheme.
But still, even in a world more enlightened, where creators can make a living on YouTube and social media, where millions are made in ways that aren’t white collar jobs; in a world where your work is hardly even a concrete definition of who you are – these systems still exist. Parents still push their children into these positions, poisoning their minds and sometimes even their bodies. Chow takes it to an extreme, but it somehow still feels prescient. He’s saying that education isn’t made in books, and forcing these systems only discourages curiosity in a child. It harms their long-terms learning, like it harms their long-term growth. Through the notes that fly through the air, Chow makes his bold statement: this is killing the kids.
Verdict: Bleak, but quite gripping once it gets going, Deadline is an atmospheric mystery with a lot to say.
Deadline (2025)
Also known as: 午时三刻
Mandarin
Director: Kiwi Chow
Writers: Kiwi Chow, Frankie Chung, Chun Wing Tsang
CAST
Anthony Wong – Principal Kung
Allison Lin – Miss Tien
Jimmy Liu – Chun
Mimi Shao – Ruoyan
Bai Run-yin – Heng
Tai Ya-chih – Peiching
Michael Chang – Jay
Huang Diyang – Mr Gao
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