May 26, 2005
The Modern Hong Kong Triad Film: Part II
How Triads Work...In The Movies
How the triads work, in movies anyway, is that each member needs to be sponsored by another member to enter a triad. The person who sponsored them is their Boss or Big Brother (who is also responsible for their actions) and they are a fellow (at least that is how the term is commonly subtitled). To refer to a triad member above them who is not their boss, they may use the term ‘Uncle’. People at the bottom rung of triad culture can advance either by getting their own fellows who in turn will get their own and so forth, or by proving themselves with impressive deeds -- taking on big tasks like assassinating important people or running a successful business.
When triads clash it is often over territory or ‘face’. ‘Face’ refers to being respected and getting respect. It’s an insult if someone doesn’t give you face and if you are disrespected, you must take appropriate action.
When triads clash, the will bring in a show of force. If someone has significantly more people than the other, the latter may back down. When it comes to fighting, it can be done in a variety of styles. When groups fight, more often than not they have knives and machetes. Guns are simply too expensive and too difficult to get to provide all members with them. Yet in John Woo’s movies in particular, guns are the weapon of choice.
Triad members are often recruited very young, generally from high school or even middle school. Oftentimes their brother or father will have triad ties.
Also, if a triad member kills someone or the police are after them for some reason, they go ‘on the lamb’. This means going to a foreign country until the heat cools down. Michael Corleone does this in THE GODFATHER after assassinating the man who put the hit out on his father.
These and many other terms and situations are common in triad films and the filmmakers generally expect their audience members to be familiar with them.
Why Are Triad Films So Cool?
Triad films are usually action packed. Whether it’s action from beginning to end or in short bursts throughout a film, it’s intense and explosive. But what sets these action-thrillers apart from the bulk of their Hollywood counterparts, is that the action scenes are just the setting for a deeper look into the people, problems and culture of Hong Kong.
There probably isn’t a triad film where the main character gets through the film with all of his buddies or himself physically in tact. When watching a triad film, chances are someone is going to die. This emphasizes the sense of loss in Hong Kong.
The popularity of gangster pictures in any country generally correlates to a changing society -- such as America in the 20s and 30s and the early 70s when THE GODFATHER hit big. The success of the Triad picture in Hong Kong from the mid-80s and through the 90s represents a territory in transition -- From a large economic boom in the 80s to a large economic downturn in the 90s and in particular the anxiety leading up to the 1997 turnover of Hong Kong from the British to the Chinese. Like the lives of triad members, there is a fear in Hong Kong that every thing could end. They are all living on borrowed time.
Therefore, triad films are cool because they provide action, thrills and drama but also have complex conflicted characters and relevant themes representing the changing society of Hong Kong.
Women in Triad Films
To be honest, women are often not portrayed well in triad films. A lot of triad films ignore women altogether -- they do not have a role in this world of masculinity and brotherhood. The most common role for women in these films is ‘the girlfriend’, who usually is very loyal but mostly exists to take care of her man or simply to be a liability to him.
The only triad films in which women have a substantial role are the love stories based in a triad world. For instance, Wong Kar Wai’s AS TEARS GO BY shows the relationship between a triad member and a regular woman in which he must choose between her and his triad fellow.
There are a couple decent women’s roles in the triad world, but it is not the norm.
Postmodernism
After a genre gets very well-defined, artists will come along who want to play with audience preconceptions. Therefore, after watching some triad films, and gaining an understanding of the genre, it is very fulfilling to watch the films that try to deconstruct and reconstruct it. Johnny To headed up a bundle of these films, either as director or producer, including A HERO NEVER DIES(1998), TOO MANY WAYS TO BE NUMBER ONE(1997), THE ODD ONE DIES(1997), and THE LONGEST NITE(1998).
Triads and the Film Industry
It is somewhat ironic for the triad picture to be so popular in a film industry in which real triads play such a big role. Allegedly, of course. It’s been rumored that at times the triads have literally owned the movie business. At the very least, they’ve had run ins with movie industry giants, working with some, beating others. And also they run the video piracy industry that plagues movie companies.
The Pictures In Between
There are a couple big events in the history of the modern triad film, starting with of course, A BETTER TOMORROW. After that film, there were many great triad movies to be had but really the next big change in the genre didn’t happen until YOUNG AND DANGEROUS. But here’s a look at some of the best of the rest.
Triad movies can focus on police or assassins as many Woo movies do. But now we’re going focus on the bread and butter of triad society, the guys in the middle. These are the real Triad movies, not simply movies that have Triad elements. Also, many of HK’s most distinguished directors tackled the popular genre and had great pictures to add.
Ringo Lam: City On Fire (1987)
Ringo Lam is the mainstay of the triad genre. His films are often similar to Woo’s and Lam is not favored by the comparison. But what he does is decidedly different and he made many great contributions to the genre. He is known for films such as FULL CONTACT, FULL ALERT, TOUCH AND GO, WILD SEARCH and more.
But what he’s most well known for is the film CITY ON FIRE. Starring Chow Yun Fat and Danny Lee (a pairing repeated with even more success in Woo’s THE KILLER). Ko (Chow) is an undercover cop and Fu (Lee) is the head of a group of thieves he is supposed to infiltrate. But when Ko gets too close to Fu he must decide where his loyalties lie.
Chow does great work with a complex role. He has his relationship with a recently deceased colleague, his relationship with his uncle who is also his superior at the police, his relationship with his fiancee and his relationship with Fu, the criminal. He tries to balance these elements as he’s forced to make difficult choices. Ringo Lam creates a forceful picture where the audience is with Ko every step of the way and manages to understand his decisions.
CITY ON FIRE is most well known as the film Tarantino used as a template for RESERVOIR DOGS. It’s a great example of the cops and robbers dynamic. It creates a heart wrenching brotherhood and loyalty that is hard to understand but easy to sympathize with.
Ringo Lam followed the film up quickly with decreasing success in PRISON ON FIRE and SCHOOL ON FIRE. PRISON ON FIRE is a worthy film, with a great performance by Chow Yun Fat. SCHOOL ON FIRE has very few admirable qualities.
Lam has gritty docu-esque style always adds a real visceral feel to his films -- like this action is really happening (unlike John Woo who is pure unrealistic, albeit entertaining, style). This works great with this picture about a man who must figure out himself to then figure out his loyalties.
This film also has great action scenes, all leading up to the big shootout in the end that is thrilling as it is touching. Ringo Lam builds his narrative to this bloody climax in a scene you’ll remember for a long time.
Wong Kar Wai: As Tears Go By (1989)
Before Wong Kar Wai could work without scripts and shoot whatever he wanted, and before he was one of the world’s most famous auteurs -- he made his directorial debut with the most commercial of genres, a triad romance. He cast Andy Lau, a big star then as he is now and Maggie Cheung, a rising star at the time who was still playing the love interest in Jackie Chan films and who had not yet established herself as a serious actress. But she did establish a fruitful relationship with WKW, appearing later in the much touted IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. This film also stars Jacky Cheung, who like Andy Lau was considered one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Hong Kong -- the four most popular male stars in singing and acting.
The film is a touching love story and also slightly reminiscent of Scorsese’s MEAN STREETS. Wah (Lau) is a low level triad fellow whose cousin Ngor (Maggie Cheung) comes to stay with him for a short amount of time. They begin to fall in love but he always has to deal with his best friend Fly (Jacky Cheung) who is a showy screw-up.
Wah is Fly’s ‘big brother’ in the triad and is responsible for him. Fly’s actions are the same as if they were Wah’s. Yet Wah finds himself continually distracted by his growing interest in Ngor.
Wong Kar Wai purists usually shrug off this overly-conventional film from a notoriously unconventional Wong as simply his first picture and not really part of his oeuvre. But it’s hard to deny it’s place in triad genre history. At the core of many triad movies is the decision between triad life and another life. Loyalty to your fellow, to you ‘brother’ is the most important thing. Although Fly is a screw up, it’s obvious he would never choose a woman over Wah.
The film shows the Wah-Ngor relationship from its inception, but little is really shown of the bond between Wah and Fly. But this film assumes a familiarity with the genre. And anyone who watches triad films does not need the brotherhood bond shown to them, it’s implicit from the beginning.
And Andy is a great leading man, Maggie is a strong female presence and I feel that Jacky is always one of the best actors in quirky supporting roles in Hong Kong.
It’s true, the plot is very generic, but if you are going to watch one generic triad movie, this is a strong contender. The romance story is great -- what woman could resist tough, brooding Andy? And there are even a couple big sweeping romantic moments. But the violent aspects are also present. It is a triad film after all. Wah does attack people with a meat clever. And Wong Kar Wai delicately balances the two aspects to create a really strong picture, obviously showing the promise of what he went on too accomplish.
If you don’t like artsy Wong Kar Wai, then perhaps still give this mainstream picture a chance. It really is sort of the perfect date movie with it’s romance for the ladies and triad action for the boys. But that’s if you have a girlfriend who would watch a fifteen year old subtitled movie, and I believe those ladies are hard to find.
Lastly, I must warn that this otherwise strong film is plagued by the constant playing of a “Take My Breath Away” cover. Wong has always liked to use covers of American pop music but the constant use of this song is distracting and dates the film. Just learn to tune it out as I have and you’ll have a great time.
Johnny To: The Mission(1999)
Johnny To has made many triad films or films with triad elements, but this is probably his best film actually about triads. It has no big stars but instead is headlined by the mainstays of the industry such as Francis Ng and Anthony Wong.
After an attempted assassination on a Triad boss, he hires five bodyguards (Francis Ng, Anthony Wong, Jackie Liu, Suet Lam and Roy Cheung). This is the story of them following him around as they risk their lives and a bond grows between them. In the end, their bond is tested and it’s hard to know if it’s strong enough to hold.
There are a lot of things to like in this movie. It asserts that once you live through a shootout with people, there is an unspoken connection. The bond of these five men is not unlike what would be portrayed in a war picture.
Also, My favorite element of this film, is that while they are on their ‘mission’, you never know where the next assassin will pop up. The shootouts seem to begin out of nowhere as the five bodyguards always stay cool and collected, protected their client.
This film does display the usual triad themes of loyalty and brotherhood. But it also seems to assert a futility of what these men do. While these men do act cool and don’t flinch at bullets, I don’t think the film glamorizes triad life. In fact, I think it deglamorizes it by making it seem perfunctory, like a job. The bodyguards’ cool and collected demeanor during each shootout makes it seem like just another part of the day. You can almost see the characters yawn with lack of intensity. They’re just doing their work. The film is often seen as slow and boring, but that’s these guys’ everyday. (To does something similar but from the cops’ point of view in PTU).
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This movie is often touted for its stripped down straightforward style. By 1999, when it was released, triad films had gotten more and more stylish to the point of absurdity. But a lot of To’s movies come off as realism when they really aren’t. While To takes away the flashiness, he still bends the stories to his theme and his point. To has done several of these semi-realistic, postmodernist looks at a number of common genres.
But again, I think the music is a downer. The repetitive synthesized score will make you swear this movie is set in 1987 and I think it’s a poor choice for the world market but I soon learned to tune it out and enjoy myself.
IN TWO WEEKS: International Intrigue’s Summer Movie Preview! After you’ve seen Star Wars a dozen times, check out some of the foreign offerings this summer.
TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT: The third and final installment of Hong Kong Triads! Covering the YOUNG AND DANGEROUS films.
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