Being John Malkovich (bc30)
玩謝麥高維治 (bc30)
Ever wanted to be someone else? Now you can.
7.4/10 Good 4958 votes
- Released
- 17 Sep 2026
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Certificate
- Category IIB
- Original title
- Being John Malkovich
- Language
- en
The verdict
Audiences rate it 7.4 out of 10 on TMDB across 4,958 votes — a solid score. It is not currently playing in Hong Kong cinemas. Category IIB · 113 minutes.
What it is about
Craig Schwartz is a struggling street puppeteer. He takes a temporary job as a filing clerk at a mysterious company where he discovers a portal to the mind of actor John Malkovich. He then hatches a plan to let others into John's brain to make money. This original debut feature of the acclaimed, retired filmmaker Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, the director of Her, combines absurdist, metaphysical, surrealist and “Kafkaesque” into one.
What to expect
Craig Schwartz puppeteers on the street for spare change until a filing-clerk job leads him to a portal into John Malkovich's head. What starts as a voyeuristic thrill becomes a business, then a love triangle, then something far stranger. Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's first feature doesn't settle into a single tone — it moves from office-drone satire to metaphysical heist to a tenderness that catches you off guard. John Cusack plays Craig as a man whose resentment curdles into something predatory; Cameron Diaz, buried under a frizzy wig, is the movie's unlikely moral centre; and Malkovich, playing a version of himself, commits so fully that the joke never wears thin. The ideas about identity and wanting to be someone else are there, but they land because the movie keeps finding new, uncomfortable places to take them.
The Hong Kong release is subtitled in Chinese, rated IIB, and runs 113 minutes. It screens in the bc30 format — check with the cinema whether that affects the schedule or presentation. Audience ratings on the site sit at 7.4 from close to five thousand votes, which for a movie this odd is less a score than a shrug: people who click with it really click with it.
Trailer
Cast
-
John Cusack
Craig Schwartz -
Cameron Diaz
Lotte Schwartz -
John Malkovich
John Horatio Malkovich -
Catherine Keener
Maxine Lund -
Orson Bean
Dr. Lester -
Mary Kay Place
Floris -
W. Earl Brown
First J.M. Inc. Customer -
Carlos Jacott
Larry the Agent -
Willie Garson
Guy in Restaurant -
Byrne Piven
Captain Mertin -
Gregory Sporleder
Drunk at Bar -
Charlie Sheen
Charlie -
Reggie Hayes
Don -
K.K. Dodds
Wendy -
Judith Wetzell
Tiny Woman
Crew
- Director Spike Jonze
- Writer Charlie Kaufman
- Original Music Composer Carter Burwell
- Director of Photography Lance Acord
- Editor Eric Zumbrunnen
- Executive Producer Charlie Kaufman
- Executive Producer Michael Kuhn
- Producer Steve Golin
- Producer Vincent Landay
- Producer Sandy Stern
- Producer Michael Stipe
Streaming in Hong Kong
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What viewers said
Full review: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YaFaVOq4cOeC7BBgUgmou?si=dfb200c90b4d4e74 ---- While there are many movies about self discovery, self growth and identity, not many (if really any) have taken the approach of 'Being John Malkovich'. The general premise of the movie is: struggling puppeteer Craig discovers a portal allowing him to enter the mind of the actor John Malkovich. […]
d54.pod — 10/10 · read in full
<em>'Being John Malkovich'</em> sure is quite something! Despite not knowing the type of movie that it is, I'm always wanted to get this one watched purely because of the title. Now I've seen it, I'm pleased I've done so. It's strange on the surface, though by the end it's... almost normal? Based on the opening and the genre it's listed under on Wikipedia, I was expecting more of an artsy sorta thing. Pleasantly, it isn't that. […]
r96sk — 8/10 · read in full
“Craig” (John Cusack) is married to “Lotte” (Cameron Diaz) but it’s more of a convenient arrangement as they both struggle to make ends meet. He is a professional puppeteer so whilst that allows him to dwell in world of creative fantasy, it doesn’t put food on the table. To supplement his income he takes a job working in a New York office building that could have come straight out of Lewis Carroll. […]
CinemaSerf — 7/10 · read in full
Common questions
- How long is the movie?
- 113 minutes.
- What is the Hong Kong certificate?
- IIB — not suitable for young children.
- What language is it in, and are there subtitles?
- English, with Chinese subtitles on the Hong Kong release.
- Is it showing in IMAX or other premium formats?
- This release is in the bc30 format. The facts don't mention IMAX, so assume it isn't available that way.
