Hak gam (1997)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Michael Mak

Writers:

Johnny Mak (written by)
Johnny Mak (story) ...

Release Date:

23 December 1997 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Underworld

Awards:

7 nominations

Cast

Andy Lau	...	Capt. Fong Kuo-Fai, Bureau of Investigation Artillery Team
Tony Leung Ka Fai	...	Chao Chiu-Sen (as Tony Leung)
Paulyn Sun	...	Miu-Heung
Annie Wu	...	Ling Fai
Kathy Kuo
Doze Niu
Lichun Lee		(as Lee Li Chun)
Shih Chieh King	...	Vice Chairman Hau (as King Shih Chieh)
Fuzhu Liu		(as Liu Pu Juh)
Hai Ming Wong		(as Wang Hai Ming)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chung-Yung Chan
Zhongtai Chen
Hung Long
Hai Juei Wang		(as Wang Hai Juei)
Shui Wong

Also Known As:

Island of Greed (Hong Kong: English title)
Hei jin (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Taiwanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:18 (cut) | South Korea:18

Company:

China Star Entertainment

Quotes:

Fong Kuo-Fai: Many years ago, they ruined Mainland China. Our people retreated to Taiwan. If they ruin Taiwan now, where can we go?

Disappointing crime drama, despite its large-scale ambition

ISLAND OF GREED (Hei Jin)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic)

Sound format: Dolby Digital

A Taiwanese special agent (Andy Lau) goes on the trail of a Triad gang leader (Tony Leung) who attempts to bribe his way into political office.

Large-scale blockbuster from director Michael Mak, unusual for its up-front exploration of Triad involvement in Taiwanese politics. Stand-out action set-pieces include a chaotic shoot-out in a crowded marketplace between Lau's men and a group of would-be assassins, and a large-scale riot on the streets of Taipei as taxi drivers stage a huge strike commissioned by Leung for nefarious purposes. Look out, too, for an audacious sequence in which Lau and his cohorts struggle to prevent a character from being attacked by snapping Alsatians, though this scene is compromised by images of horrific animal cruelty (chickens are dragged behind speeding vehicles and savaged by the rampaging dogs, for real), resulting in this scene being completely removed from British prints.

The narrative unfolds at such a breakneck pace, it's often difficult to keep tabs on proceedings, and the film will leave some viewers trailing in its headlong wake. Leung is terrific as the vicious gangster stifled by circumstances beyond his control, and weary of his arrogant superiors, and Pauline Suen ("Love and Sex of the Eastern Hollywood") is equally strong as his sexy but ill-bred wife, all too aware of her intellectual limitations but desperate to support her husband's political ambitions. Sadly, Lau is rather anonymous in a role which gives him virtually nothing to do, and his character barely registers as a presence. Given its setting, the film was recorded in sync-sound Mandarin and dubbed into Cantonese for its Hong Kong theatrical release - stick with the original.

(Mandarin dialogue)