Golden Goblet Entry “Secret in the Box” Revisits Infamous Hong Kong Murder

The cast and crew of Secret in the Box, a Golden Goblet Awards Main Competition entry at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, discussed the inspiration behind the film at a press conference on June 20.

Based on Hong Kong's first murder case solved entirely through forensic evidence and without eyewitness testimony, the film recreates the evocative atmosphere of 1970s Hong Kong, with local director Frankie Tam Kwong‑yuen effectively reopening debate about the 1974 Happy Valley Box Murder. 

As the investigation unfolds, the film’s narrative not only traces the search for truth but also exposes the darker depths of human nature in the city. 

Lead actor, Mainland Chinese veteran Zhang Songwen, delivers his first fully Cantonese‑language performance on the big screen, portraying a small‑time man weighed down by years of repression and increasingly unable to distinguish between the realities at play.

Commenting on his role, Zhang Songwen said that dialect helps people connect with their roots. "I believe dialect, especially Cantonese, is history, it has a thousand year history," he said. 

"This story takes place in Hong Kong. If I were to portray a native Hong Konger with only Mandarin, it would be mismatched. Dialect allows the audience to feel a stronger sense of belief."

Actor Patrick Tam, in his first role playing alongside Zhang Songwen, praised him as an excellent and humble actor. “I've been looking forward to it for a long time,” Tam said. "He's really very capable.”

As the film’s director, maintaining suspense and character emotions in the storytelling, Frankie Tam explained that the editing process also is akin to solving a mystery, seeking the answers needed during filming.

“The discussion about this case has never stopped in the past 50 years,” Tam said. “When weighing up our creative choices, we could not deliver a verdict, we refused to provide a definitive answer.

"People often only believe what they wish to believe. Thus, we ultimately adopted a parallel universe approach, allowing the audience to choose which version of the truth they wanted to embrace."