Ching toi (2008)

Director:

Chi-kin Kwok

Writers:

Clement Sze-Kit Cheng (screenplay)
Chi-kin Kwok (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 May 2008 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A Hong Kong cop is struggling for his survival in the underground world, a place filled with criminals and low life people like moss in rotting hell. |

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Shawn Yue	...	Jan
Seli Xian	...	Lulu
Siu-Wong Fan	...	Beggar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clement Sze-Kit Cheng	...	Cop
Matt Chow	...	Fai
Jay Lau	...	Nurse
Kai Chi Liu	...	Four-eyed Tong
Gill Mohindepaul Singh	...	Singh (as Bobo Kiu)
Suet-yee Si	...	Fa
Shaun Tam	...	Officer Pan
Eric Tsang	...	On
Shaw Yin Yin	...	Chong Mom (as Susan Shaw)

Also Known As:

The Moss (International: English title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:95 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, China

Company:

BIG Pictures

The Moss Review: I liked it

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The Moss seems to have attracted mixed reviews; some have praised its cinematography, others have put down its violent nature and derivative nature. The storyline involves a corrupt cop who has his hand in the pockets of the criminal underworld. After a raid on a brothel a fat man farts an emerald out (seriously) which is collected by an under-age girl trying to make money and escape poverty by working in a brothel, another prostitute goes on the run with her. The fat man is murdered by another prostitute and his body hidden. The cops are then involved in a shoot-out with a Pakistani gang and things follow from there really.

The cinematography is great capturing the grit and dirt of the street. The camera movements can be distracting and sometimes it is hard to tell what happened (during the fight scenes) as some of it is so quick. Blink and you miss it. Other than that can't complain. The sound design is crisp and varied. The acting by the main characters is spot on. Some of the bit players do tend to either overdo it or not really stand out but it can be overlooked.

The film has been criticised for its violence. Bloody shootings, brutal beating, impalements: it's all here. Another factor which may put people off is its unsympathetic nature; I would say it is nihilistic in tone. This is a current trend in film and can be seen a lot in horror and thrillers but I like my films a little darker.

Summary: Recommended for fans of gritty HK cop/gangster films. Should be avoided by fans of nice films. It offers nothing new to the genre but there's enough to recommend it.

DVD: (Mei-Ah HK Version 2-Discer) Good clean picture quality with sharp contrast (what you would expect from a recentish film); Sound: on my system crisp sound levels with good balance the bass sounds were particularly good. The subtitles were hit and miss, some spelling mistakes and accuracy mistakes but they were good enough to be understood. Disc 2 has a making of extra. Disc 1 is just the film.

Recommended