The Stool Pigeon (2010)
"Sin yan" (original title)

Policeman Don Lee often works with informants but numerous too-close calls and failed missions cause him to see the world as one betrayal after another - then he meets Guy, and is given a new chance to change his views.

Director:

Dante Lam

Writers:

Dante Lam (story), Wai Lun Ng (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicholas Tse, Gwei Lun-Mei, Nick Cheung

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nicholas Tse	...	Ghost Jr.
Gwei Lun-Mei	...	Dee
Nick Cheung	...	Don Lee
Shing-Cheung Lee	...	Don's superior
Yi Lu	...	Barbarian
Tony Ho	...	Pimp Wing
Kai Chi Liu	...	Jabber
Lawrence Cheng	...	Cher's brother
Ming Wan Yeung
Philip Keung	...	Tai Ping
Deep Ng	...	Fairing
Pu Miao	...	Cher
Sherman Chung	...	Ghost's sister
Siu-bing Leung	...	Social worker
So-Fun Wong

Storyline

Policeman Don Lee often works with informants but numerous too-close calls and failed missions cause him to see the world as one betrayal after another - then he meets Guy, and is given a new chance to change his views.

---

Taglines:

Policeman Don Lee often works with informants but numerous too-close calls and failed missions cause him to see the world as one betrayal after another - then he meets Guy, and is given a new chance to change his views.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

26 August 2010 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Muhbir

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emperor Motion Pictures, Huayi Brothers, Sil-Metropole Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in America's Next Top Model: Nicholas Tse (2012)

User Reviews

When the good and the bad becomes sinners.

Stool Pigeon marks Hong Kong director Dante Lam's latest production as a unofficial sequel to the 2008 hit, Beast Stalker. Pairing up with Nicholas Tse and Nick Cheung, the two leading actors from Beast Stalker, Stool Pigeon has no doubt, become one of the few worthy Hong Kong productions of the year.

Beast Stalker features Tse as a detective and Cheung, a half-blind hit-man, crosses path with each other and teaming up together to stop a crime. In Stool Pigeon, both Tse and Cheung swapped their roles. Tse is now an ex-convict nicknamed Ghost, who unwillingly work as a informant for Don Lee (Cheung) in order to clear debts left by his late father and to rescue his only sister out of prostitution.

Don plants Ghost into a group of robbers, lead by wanted criminal, Barbarian (Lu Yi). Don wants Ghost to provide the information about Barbarian's plot to rob a jewelry shop, so as to make an arrest. Ghost came across Barbarian's girlfriend, Dee (Kwei Lun Mei), whom both is in love with each other after meeting each other years ago. When Don found out Ghost has been forced to join the robbery, he find all ways to pull Ghost out of the situation.

Lam have two productions released in theaters this year: Fire of Conscience and Stool Pigeon. While critics finds Fire of Conscience seems to be a disappointment, Stool Pigeon makes it better. Both movies discuss morality, with the leading characters seems to share a similar background. Lam creates a role of male police detective losing his loved ones, with two different outcomes: Leon Lai uses violence to solve crimes in Fire of Conscience; Nick Cheung redeems his sins quietly by helping the people around him quietly in Stool Pigeon.

While Fire of Conscience seems to lack details in certain scenes, Stool Pigeon makes it up by detailing every aspects of the characters involved specifically. Here, we are able to see why Don is trying to pull Ghost out of the robbery: his hesitance in using his former informant leads to his informant being taken on revenge, thus losing the informant's sanity.

Lam also displays how people standing on both sides of the law can appear in different scenarios. Fire of Conscience portrays two detectives standing on both sides of the law, with Leon Lai tracking down and stopping his new partner Richie Jen from leaning on the wrong side of the law. In Stool Pigeon, audience can tell directly that Nicholas Tse and Nick Cheung portrays two characters on different sides of the law easily, with one as a gangster, another a detective. However, both ends up in a path where both do not wish to take: which is to stand on the wrong side of the law, and using unethical methods to save themselves. Ultimately, both Tse and Cheung's role fits in the tag line of Stool Pigeon: Good and bad are both sinners.

Taiwanese actress Kwei Lun Mei sheds her image of the girl next door with her role of Dee, who is a woman with a past. Kwei does not have much appearance in Stool Pigeon, but her role makes it important as anybody else, especially her role is more than just explaining about the relationships between Ghost and Barbarian. Both Tse and Cheung has appeared in taking a more matured role with more refined skills to portray them. Tse continues with his bad boy image, but much older and tougher than the similar roles he taken years ago. Cheung appears more refined throughout his acting careers, which he did not disappoints the audience.

Overall, Stool Pigeon is not your usual crime thriller that does not require thinking. A through analysis on the plot and characters are required to understand Stool Pigeon, which definitely helps in one understanding the movie.