Running on Karma (2003)
"Daai zek lou" (original title)

A monk turned body-builder, with the gift to see into people's lives, befriends a female cop, and uses his gift to change the force of Karma and her destiny.

Directors:

Johnnie To, Ka-Fai Wai

Writers:

Ka-Fai Wai, Nai-Hoi Yau,

Stars:

Andy Lau, Cecilia Cheung, Siu-Fai Cheung

7 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Andy Lau	...	Big
Cecilia Cheung	...	Inspector Lee Fung Yee
Siu-Fai Cheung	...	Inspector Chung (as Cheung Siu Fai)
Wong Chun	...	Yee's Superior Officer (as Chun Wong)
Karen Tong	...	Woman
Wen Zhong Yu	...	Master Wu (as Yu Wen Zhong)
Lian Sheng Hou	...	Master Wen (as Hou Lian Sheng)
Sheng Wei He	...	(as He Sheng Wei)
Meng Zhang	...	Jade (as Zhang Meng)

Storyline

Exotic dancer Dai Jet Lo (brawny man) has a gift to see through "cause and consequence". He meets a female cop and uses his gift to help her capture an extremely dangerous murderer. The female cop learns that Dai Jet Lo was once a monk who, due to the murder of a friend, left the monastery to find the killer. The female cop also has a inevitable "karma" that dooms her to die an unnatural death. The duo decide to oppose "cause and consequence" and change what cannot be changed.

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Plot Keywords:

monk | muscular | policewoman

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [hk]

Country:

Hong Kong China

Language:

Cantonese English Hindi

Release Date:

27 September 2003 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Running on Karma

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$678,270 (Hong Kong) (26 September 2003)

Gross:

$3,361,742 (Hong Kong) (24 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

China Star Entertainment, One Hundred Years of Film Company, Milky Way Image Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Forbidden Planet (1956)

User Reviews

the muscle suit is not a gimmick

A lot of comments have been made about the gimmick of Andy Lau's body suit but I think the director intentionally used it. Much of the film is metaphorical and symbolic. The movie artfully provides a story that is richer for its indirectness. Just as Daai Chek Liu fights the form of his would be self, and prevents the triggering of a new karmic thread through a potential revenge/ justifiable killing of Sun Ko, the body suit may in fact symbolize the effort that many people put into developing the unimportant/ ineffectual aspects of their lives. In the first part of the movie, none of his highly developed skills or extrasensory perception can avert the eventual course of karma; and only in the second part, when he forgives Sun Ko, is he successful in making any difference.

His shedding of his over-developed physique during this journey is perhaps symbolic of his return to simply pursuing "the only thing that Buddha taught" (per his soliloquy after he resolves the conflict with his alter ego). If you watch carefully, everything you need to understand the story is right there; but it's not obvious. There are many places where the director has only sown the seed for further inquiry. I could go on; but suffice to say it's not a movie that can be fully appreciated without at least some analysis on the part of the audience :) In the end, if your interpretation even makes you think about the laws of nature, the meaning and purpose of your life, that's what matters, and is perhaps what the director/ scriptwriter intended.