Zombi 57: The Zombie that couldn't stop being no. 1 (1997)

When Ah-Gou, a smalltime Hong Kong street rascal, visits a fortune teller and hears that soon he will face a life-changing choice, he surely can't imagine that his life reached a middle ... See full summary »

Director:

Ka-Fai Wai

Writers:

Ka-Fai Wai (script writer) (as Ka Fai Wai), Kam-Yuen Szeto (script writer) (as Kam Yuen Szeto)

Stars:

Ching Wan Lau, Carman Lee, Francis Ng

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ching Wan Lau	...	Kau
Carman Lee	...	Prostitute
Francis Ng	...	Matt
Ruby Wong
Tat-Ming Cheung	...	Bo (as Tat Ming Cheung)
Elvis Tsui	...	(as Jin Jiang Xu)
Joe Cheng
Matt Chow	...	(as Matthew)
Pounh Chong Soong
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yan-Tak Chiu
Ha Ha
Morris Hsiang Jung
Tien-Fa Kao
Turbo Kong	...	Spa Customer
Yuen Man Leung

Storyline

When Ah-Gou, a smalltime Hong Kong street rascal, visits a fortune teller and hears that soon he will face a life-changing choice, he surely can't imagine that his life reached a middle point without return. Will he go to Mainland China with his fellow gangsters to close a deal on a couple of stolen cars? Or will he instead chose to accompany his friend on a trip to kill a mafioso in Taiwan? We are presented with the outcomes of both choices, but is any of the choices really a good one won't be easy to tell... This underground action comedy not only draws inspirations from Krzysztof Kieslowski and Quentin Tarantino, but can also be seen as a highly evaluated political commentary on Hongkong's transition to the People's Republic of China in 1997. Avant-garde cinematography, trippy electronic music and a variety of characteristic figures makes it a fun and memorable experience.

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Plot Keywords:

choice | hong kong | stolen car | gangster | taiwan | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Did You Know?

Goofs

During the van robbery shootout, at least one shot is reversed. The "Accord" in "Honda Accord" is shown backwards.

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Connections

Followed by The Odd One Dies (1997)

User Reviews

A Waste of Two Great Actors

I have no idea why everyone loves this movie so much. I found it underwhelming.

And I'm not just talking about the camera-work either. That's the least of this movie's problems. Everything is just way too schizophrenic. Characters (and references to characters) just pop out of absolutely nowhere, only to then be dropped like a bad habit only minutes later. As such, the viewer is given nothing to work with in terms of dramatic tension, suspense, or well executed action. The comedy always feels forced because there's no setup time for any of the scenarios; they do this, then they immediately do something completely different, then they instantly do something else, etc. ad infinitum. The script can be summarized as follows: a bunch of stuff happens, very little of which is interesting or fun. It tries to be stylish but comes off as simply cheap. And no, it's not funny at all.

This movie is the posterchild for underdeveloped concepts. Virtually everything here is wafer thin, as expected when you throw in dozens of superficial elements that are given a few minutes of screen time each. The structure and light-speed cadence is so irritating that it grates on the nerves within the opening 5 minutes. Someone should have given the director some depressants and taken away the cameraman's Red Bull.

This was a huge disappointment, and a waste of two great actors.

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

14 March 1997 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Zombi 57: The Zombie that couldn't stop being no. 1

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Milky Way Image Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1