Ballistic Kiss (1998) Sat sat yan, tiu tiu mo (original title)

Director:

Donnie Yen

Writers:

Bey Logan (writer)
Donnie Yen

Release Date:

21 March 1998 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Policewoman | Violence | Hong Kong | Police | Bullet Ballet

Cast

Donnie Yen	...	Cat Lee
Annie Wu	...	Carrie
Jimmy Wong Ga Lok	...	Wesley (as Jimmy Wong)
Simon Lui
Rongguang Yu	...	Rival hitman
Vincent Kok
Lui Chow
Karen Tong
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Conroy Chan Chi-Chung
Chi-Ho Chan	...	Gangster
Aan Chi-Lam
John Hau
Choi-Chow Hoh
Bang Ippongi
Kwok-Kit Lam
Wai-Kai Law
Ying Kwan Lok
Wai Cheung Mak
Kin-keung Ng
Kenji Tanigaki	...	Gangster
Gwok Wai-Keung
Ivan Wong
Michael Woods	...	Thug
Pinky Yau

Directed by
Donnie Yen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bey Logan		writer
Donnie Yen

Produced by
Yuk-Lam Pang	....	associate producer
Donnie Yen	....	producer

Original Music by
Yukie Nishimura

Cinematography by
Ally Wong		(as Wong Kai-Fai)

Film Editing by
Kun-Sing Chan

Production Design by
Nelson Cheung

Art Direction by
Nelson Cheung

Makeup Department
Maggie Choy	....	makeup artist
Ng Kin-Keung	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Ivan Wong	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gwok Wai-Keung	....	second assistant director
Pinky Yau	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Wong Chi-Chiu	....	props
Yuen Kwong-Hing	....	property master

Stunts
Chi-Ho Chan	....	action choreographer
Choi-Chow Hoh	....	action choreographer
Wai Cheung Mak	....	action choreographer
Lui Tak-Wai	....	action choreographer
Kenji Tanigaki	....	action choreographer
Kenji Tanigaki	....	stunt coordinator
Donnie Yen	....	action director

Camera and Electrical Department
Wing Lun Chow	....	gaffer
Chi-kan Kwan	....	grip
Stephen Poon Tak-Yip	....	lighting technician

Music Department
Marty Tashiro	....	music producer

Other crew
Idy Tse Lui	....	script supervisor
Annette Tsang	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Silver Bullet Film Productions

Distributors

• Golden Harvest Company (1998) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

"Sat sat yan, tiu tiu mo" - Hong Kong (original title)
"Kill a Little, Dance a Little" - Hong Kong (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB

Company:

Silver Bullet Film Productions

Quotes:

Cat Lee:No one is innocent.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Moonlight Express (1999)

A Good, Solid Example of the Heroic Bloodshed Genre. Arty and Entertaining.

I am not quite sure what the reason is for the harsh criticism that the film is receiving by commentators here on IMDb. "Ballistic Kiss" is one of those rare times that a film fuses together mass entertainment with personalized artistry, albeit not entirely successfully but to a greater degree than other film of its ilk.

Donnie Yen directors this film with surprising visual flair. The cinematography is slick with lighting that is very noir-ish in nature. Yen utilizes different color filters and shifts to B&W occasionally to formulate a distinct mood that reflects the situation of the scene or the emotions of the characters.

The editing, admittedly, is slightly rough. During action scenes this adds a feeling of gritter intensity, but during dramatic and emotional scenes, the editing can be jarring.

Yen, being an action legend, does not disappoint in the film's action sequences. He carefully choreographs gun fights that are balletic and poetic in nature. The most notable scene is a sequence within the apartment where Yen and a hit-man shoot at one another at extreme close ranges, encircling a sofa and sliding along the ground in effortless motion.

The acting, however, is a mixed bag. The performances of the Yen and his female captors are near perfect. The relationship between the two is entirely believable and we become involved with them, investing our own emotions into the film.

However, some supporting characters do give rather over the top performances, such as the two villains near the end of the film. Fortuantely, there isn't a high degree of theses occurrences so we are able to forgive them of these mistakes.

The narrative is rather typical of the genre, yet it is told in a fresh way. The artistry of the visuals really add depth to the standard story and the strong character development makes what would have been flat characters into full bodied, three dimensional figures.

The narrative does, however, have issues of coherency. The film often presses too hard for aesthetic scenes rather than scenes which are story driven which creates some moments of confusion, though the attentive viewer will easily be able to place the events together.

In conclusion, this is one of the better thrillers to come out of Hong Kong. It is a fine example of the Heroic Bloodshed and should be viewed by anyone remotely interested in the genre or Asian thrillers in general. For the average film viewer, however, I would suggest a rental or, better yet, see some of the classic examples of the genre such as "The Killer" or "Hard Boiled". If you like those films, then give this a try.