Ban wo chuang tian ya (1989)

The police are staking out a Hong Kong flat, waiting to catch some major gun-dealers. While the suppliers are conducting their deal, they move in. Both buyers are killed in the gunfire, but... See full summary »

Director:

Ringo Lam

Writer:

Yin Nam

Stars:

Yun-Fat Chow, Cherie Chung, Roy Cheung

Cast

Credited cast:
Yun-Fat Chow	...	Lau Chung Pong / 'Mew-Mew' (as Chow Yun Fat)
Cherie Chung	...	Cher
Roy Cheung	...	Bullet
Paul Chun	...	Mr. Hung
Cheuk Yan Chan	...	Ka Ka
Feng Ku	...	Lee
Kwong Leung Wong	...	Nam
Kong Lau	...	Leong
Chi Hung Ng	...	Cheong
Elaine Jin	...	Elaine Lee
Ming Wan Yeung	...	Cop
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shui-Wah Fok

Storyline

The police are staking out a Hong Kong flat, waiting to catch some major gun-dealers. While the suppliers are conducting their deal, they move in. Both buyers are killed in the gunfire, but not their young daughter. The suppliers escape, and as their ruthless boss covers his tracks, he goes after the girl, the only witness. They trace her to a safe house, but are killed in the ensuing gunfight.

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Plot Keywords:

police | chase | murder

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Genres:

Thriller | Action | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

3 June 1989 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Boon ngoh chong tin ngaai

Company Credits

Production Co:

Born Top Producers, Silver Medal Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Subtle Acting renders fascinating characters

Wild Search is a film in need of respect. I've read reviews that disparage it's pedigree--claiming it to be nothing more than a "Witness" rip-off. Yet, aside from the plot device of a young child being sole witness to a murder and that child's relatives being "from the country", there is little resemblance to "Witness" in plot or characterizations. Chow Yun Fat plays Hong Kong Police Sergeant Lau Chun Pong, nicknamed "Mew Mew". Mew Mew is a man in a downward spiral, having lost his wife and child in a robbery. When first introduced, he's sitting in a car, chain smoking cigarettes and drinking from his flask, watching the drama of street life before him as he awaits the arrival of an informant. His expression is disinterested and weary. In numbing himself from his grief, he is now numb to life. His job is what keeps him going, and he is good at it. He commands the loyalty, respect and affection of his colleagues and supervisor.

Cherie Chung plays the sister of the murdered arms dealer--whose death sets the plot in motion. Chung's Cher Lee is a woman of quiet strength and dignity. Life has not been kind to her. Her husband betrayed her, leading a secret second life with a woman from the Chinese interior, fathering a son. During their marriage he berated her for being clumsy and stupid. Rather than continuing to suffer the humiliation, Cher has divorced him and lives quietly with her father, working along side him in the village fields, harvesting bamboo.

Her sister's death brings Mew Mew into her life dramatically. Their relationship is at first contentious as he suspects her and her father of complicity in the dead sister's arms dealing. The relationship begins to transform as Mew Mew aids Cher in tracking down the father of her 4 year old niece. A man who turns out to be the kingpin of the arms smuggling operation.

Thrown into each others company, facing adversity and danger, these two wounded souls begin to blossom. A tentative, tender relationship grows and is tested time and again: through Mew Mew's suspension from the force (a result of threatening the powerful, rich arms kingpin); a domestic drama within Cher's family concerning her young niece and her father: the complication of Cher's ex-husband returning, determined to win his wife back; and Mew Mew's shooting by Cher's sister's murderer.

To be sure, these are restrained performances. Yet one only has to watch Cherie Chung as Cher as she sits at the bedside of the wounded Mew Mew, not knowing if he will live or die, her worry, longing and love playing over her features, to appreciate her work in this film. Chow's Mew Mew may lack the flash and dazzle of some of his bullet ballet roles, but the transformation from grief stricken widower to a man being brought back to life by love is fascinating to watch. His scenes with the young actress playing the daughter of the murdered woman are especially touching.