October 20, 2005
Mandarin and Death
I recently got this pile of Hong Kong movies -- just stuff I wanted to see. Watching them all I noticed some similarities. For one, this is a group of downers. A minimum of two major characters die in all these films. And I mean minimum. Death, death and more death! Being my girly self, I had to buy a whole new box off tissues.
Secondly, and really more surprisingly, was all the Mandarin! A quick note of background -- In Hong Kong they speak Cantonese, in China they speak Mandarin. In China there is quota on foreign movies and only so many are allowed each year. When Hong Kong was still British they were included as foreign. Now that they are part of China again, they are no longer subject to the quotas. So a lot of Hong Kong filmmakers are interested in the financial possibilities of 1 billion people. So many are aiming their films at the Mainland Chinese market. That caused 5 of these 6 films to be in Mandarin. Very unusual. Several Hong Kong stars and filmmakers -- but Mandarin coming out of their mouths.
Lastly, because they were made for China, several of these films feature China prominently. After watching GODDESS OF MERCY, A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES and SEVEN SWORDS, I felt like I had watched a tourist video. Rural China is beautiful! And well showcased in these films.
But despite the downer tone of these films, it’s actually a good bunch. I recommend almost all of the following....
SEVEN SWORDS (2005)
Directed by wuxia pioneer Tsui Hark.
I’m not entirely sure where to begin explaining the plot of this movie. In short, it’s not unlike THE SEVEN SAMURAI. The king has said all practitioners of martial arts should be eliminated. And one general and his right hand Fire-Wind (Sun Honglei) have set out to kill any one who even possibly knows martial arts, and really any one who doesn’t, in order to get the bounty for their heads.
As they approach one small town, an old man, Fu Qingzhu (Lau Kar Leung), comes to warns them. But he is recognized that he used to be an inquisitor for the government. The townspeople turn against him so two of them, Han Zhibang (Lu Yi) and Wu Yuan Yin (Charlie Yeung), decide to sneak him out.
While out of town, they reunite him with 4 old friends and top swordsmen who include Yang Yun Chong (Leon Lai) and Chu Zhao Nan (Donnie Yen). These folks end up being the seven swords and they all go back to the town to help save them from the bad guys.
This film has many great ideas, as Tsui Hark usually does, but they’re not allowed time to play out. And Lau Kar Leung shows us he still has it. The choreography is great, but is not always shot well and also isn’t quite allowed to play out. But the highlight is an inventive fight in a very small hallway. But there is true ingenuity in most of the fight scenes. And the weapons, this film has the coolest most unusual weapons I’ve ever seen.
But the film suffers from an abundance of too much. Too much plot. Too many characters. With all that’s packed into this film, there’s very little in the way of character development or emotional involvement -- except for one scene where one of the swords needs to set his horse free. That had me pulling out the tissues.
But this movie is far from worthless, in fact I look forward to watching it again. As flawed at it ultimately is, there is still something charming about it. It may be bad Tsui Hark direction and less than well-realized Lau Kar Leung choreography but even that is better than most movies. This film is an absolute mess of ingenuity -- and there’s some merit in that.
My DVD of this movie came with free coasters! I love them. There are couple of special edition DVD versions from China that come with this or that. I suggest the coasters.
Breaking News (2004)
Directed by internationally known auteur Johnny To.
A group of bank robbers get caught in a shoot out with police in which they escape victorious. The news cameras are rolling the whole time and they catch a police officer begging the thief for his life. The police are disgraced. Now, they still have to catch the robbers, who they find holed up in a large apartment complex, but also fight the war against the media to change public perception of the police.
The head of these two fronts are Inspector Rebecca Fong (Kelly Chen) who is trying to keep the police image looking good and Inspector Cheung (Nick Cheung) who is determined to catch the robbers at any cost.
The head of the robbers is the charismatic Yuan (Richie Ren) and he plays both games -- outwitting the police from catching him and also using a web cam to turn the media his way.
The theme of the movie is pretty clear from the set up. The media’s role in police work is intrusive to the point of danger. It’s an interesting topic to discuss and this film plays out like a hot button debate -- with guns. The best way to sugar coat the pill of intellectual political discussion is with heart-pounding kinetic action.
This film is pretty good at entertaining and sending a message -- no small feet. But for all this, it does seem to be missing heart. But two out of three ain’t bad and this film is a good watch.
The performances span the spectrum. Kelly Chen, as always, is not very good. But Richie Ren is very charismatic playing against type as a bad guy. Nick Cheung, as the ultra-serious cop, is somewhere in between.
All in all, this film is probably worth your time.
One Night In Mongkok (2005)
Directed by rising star Derek Yee.
There is a war in the street between two rival gangs. The son of one of the gang lords is killed in a street accident. Retribution is imminent. They call in a member of their gang who lives in the boonies. Roy (Daniel Wu) comes to the big city to do his duty to the gang. He is given a gun and instructions from Liu (Suet Lam). But when it’s obvious the police are on to him, he has to hide in the city for a day and night until he is allowed to leave the city again.
He meets a perky prostitute, Dan (Cecilia Cheung). She was a country bumpkin herself who came to the city for a better life and ended up as a prostitute. She spends the evening with Roy -- who the police are chasing. He is also looking for his girlfriend who came to the city herself. Rumors abound that she might also be a prostitute which is more than Roy can stand to hear.
Things get increasing desperate as a slighted customer comes after Dan and Roy and the police get closer. And the film also follows the police who are on the case. They are not happy to be working on Christmas eve, but if this hit is carried out then the city will be beyond control as the two gangs both seek retribution. Miao (Alex Fong) and Brandon (Kar Lok Chin) are experienced cops but Ben (Anson Leung) is new to the team. His parents bring in a cake for his first day. He’s not unlike Dan and Roy -- a young, naive guy.
I’m not sure I did a great job of explaining this slightly complicated plot. But it’s great how this film builds and builds and the situation becomes worse and worse for Roy and Dan.
Derek Yee seems to be the best hope for the future of Hong Kong filmmaking. He has taken a standard Triad film, with all it’s action and thrills, but also makes it something more.
The film is truly heart-wrenching. These country bumpkins are like children and the city just destroys them. Watching the cold hard city just eat up these naive uneducated young people is painful. For all their adversaries, it’s the city of Mongkok, in Hong Kong which actually destroys them.
I thought this film was very affecting and extremely well crafted. A great follow-up to Yee’s LOST IN TIME. He is a young filmmaker of great maturity. I easily recommend both films.
A World Without Thieves (2004)
Directed by Mainland China’s most well known commercial filmmaker Feng Xiaogang.
Wang Bo (Andy Lau) and Wang Li (Rene Liu) are thieves. At the beginning of the film, they are extorting a wealthy businessman and it’s clear they’ve done this before. But it’s enough for Li. She wants to quit and leaves Bo. Along the way she stumbles upon a pure hearted country bumpkin named Dumbo (Baoqiang Wang).
Li, Bo and Dumbo eventually all end up at the same train station. Dumbo makes it known to everyone that he is carrying cash. Li makes a point to watch out for him on the train, where another group of thieves, led by Uncle Bill (Ge You) have also boarded.
What follows is a game of ‘who has the money’. Bo is still after it despite Li’s pleas. All of Uncle Bill’s men are after it and even some mysterious third party is involved. Dumbo stays naive the whole time as the money constant leaves and returns to his knapsack.
This film, taking place almost entirely on a train, has the feel of a light Hitchcockian romp. But unfortunately, it does not have the craft. The film is often clunky and is missing that spark. The action is shot ‘stylistically’ with seizure-inducing cutting and it makes no sense to be shot that way.
In the end, Andy Lau is still a heartthrob, now in his 40s, and wears leather pants the whole movie. Popular mainland star Ge You is a worthy adversary. The film often has a saturated look to it and the rural countryside of China once again looks fabulous.
While the film is not as clever as it could be, it’s not a bad watch. That the pure heart of Dumbo melts hearts of thieves is a little tough to swallow but this is a film for the masses and dumbs things down almost to a level that even Dumbo could understand. Intellectually or artistically stimulating? Not so much. A good romp? Sure.
Goddess of Mercy (2003)
Directed by Ann Hui, a regular on the awards scene for decades, and based on a popular novel.
Yan Rui (Yunlong Liu) is a single man in Beijing. He sets his eye on a young woman and pursues her. But his feelings are more serious than he original intentioned. But it turns out this woman is not who she says, but is An Xin (Vicki Zhao), a former police officer. And she tells him her story and that of her young child.
Previously, she was a rising star in the anti-drug department in the city with the largest drug trade. Tienjun (Jianbin Chen) was her fiance, a top reporter who travels 8 hours by train to see her -- neither are willing to leave their jobs.
But one day, during the water festival, she meets Maojie (Nicholas Tse). They spend some time together. And one night, stuck in a car in the mud will be more fateful than either realize.
This brief relationship resonates through the rest of her life and the movie affecting every one An Xin comes in contact with. Maojie and his family fall victim to the repercussions of their brief affair as well.
This is a very affecting film. As you see the event start to spiral out of control you are not even sure what An Xin can do to stop it. Although she is the ‘goddess of mercy’ and her name means ‘peaceful’ -- every one who dares to love her must take on her curse.
Complicated emotions and complicated situations abound. And it’s a tense watch as you hope everything works out in the end although you don’t see how it ever could.
Upon watching this film, I didn’t think it was as good as Hui’s previous film JULY RHAPSODY about a teacher in mid-life and his interest in his student. But after a couple days reflection, this film affects me even more deeply.
Not only is the drama worthwhile, but the sights of rural China are lovely and the action scenes are visceral. There’s a lot going on. With a little more effort, this film could have been truly great. As it stands it’s still pretty darn good. If you’re interested in a good solid drama, I’d recommend this film highly.
Moving Targets (2004)
At last, a movie in Cantonese! Directed by Wong Jing, Hong Kong’s best B-filmmaker -- and boy has he brought us another B-movie.
As a child, Kit (Nicholas Tse) sees his father (Simon Yam) shoot his mother in a domestic dispute (she is only barely wounded). He grows up hating his father yet becomes a cop like he was. His best friend is Fit (Edison Chen), a friend from childhood and also a cop. After catching some bad guys by accident, their team gets promoted to work under Cheung Tit-man -- Kit’s father. Kit has changed his name and assumes his father does not recognize him.
The object of their investigation is Big Bryan (Ken Tong), the biggest Triad leader around. But as Big Bryan begins to blackmail Fit, he begins to feel forced to go to the bad side. And Kit, consumed by single-minded revenge moves to Internal Affairs in order to find a way to bring down his dad.
And Fit also has father problems with his mother’s boyfriend -- a well meaning screw-up named Fat Seven (Suet Lam). And together they are tied up deeply with Big Bryan. Fit also is interested in Kit’s cousin (played by one half of the ‘Twins’, Gillian Cheung).
What to say about this movie? It’s a bit silly. At least it’s trying to be serious but doesn’t quite pull off this treatise on fatherhood. It really is a B-movie. It’s easy enough to watch but you’ll be remiss to get much out of it. Local heartthrobs Tse and Chen look their hunky best. And the film tries to combine action with an absurd amount of scenes of Tse crying.
Fit’s turn to the bad side is never quite believable enough. How serious can you take his mom being kidnapped and held on a Ferris Wheel?
This is easily digestible, ‘I want my mind turned off’ fare. But it really just for fans of Tse and Chen or people who truly enjoy B-level Triad movies (and I know you’re out there).
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