Running Out of Time

This film was recommended to me by a friend. I don't know much about Hong Kong cinema, but having seen Aau Chin, I definately want to find out more. I really enjoyed it, and found it was surprisingly different from what I was expecting. I had prepared myself for lots of big fights, lots of blood and gore, and more than a little machismo. What I got was a sad, sensitive and suprisingly funny bit of cinema. Ok, so there are gunfights, car chases and bombs a plenty, but there is also something else - a heart. I really liked the interaction between the two leads, I think it worked really well, and I loved the fact that the criminal and the cop were working together. The love story was terribly romantic, and even the 'purely for laughs' role of the chief inspector was done quite nicely. As an introduction to Hong Kong cinema, I'd say this was perfect.

Not high art, not even exceptionally innovative, but a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Funny, fresh, intelligent - there are still people out there who don't need millions of dollars to hide that they're out of ideas.

When you compare this to your average Hollywood action flick, you're comparing a homemade meal with a big mac.

These are my thoughts after re-watching Aau Chin on a VCD recently bought at HK$15 (definitely NOT a pirated version). I still found it quite enjoyable.

The "setup", while not brilliant, is carefully done, with attention to details. No doubt the audience will find the total incompetence of the villiant "Baudy" quite unbelievable. But he only serves as something on which the duel between the two heroes is built.

Here's is where this film differs from many others in this genre (most notably John Woo's), in which the two heroes usually start off in sharp confrontations, although they may end up appreciating each other. Not here. Right from the beginning, Lau Ching-wan and Andy Lau give you the impression that they are engaged in no more than a friendly game of chess. I, for one, like this arrangement, as a refreshing change.

Lau Ching-wan delivers his usual easy style that is well liked by his audience. He is the mouse in this cat-and-mouse game, a dignified mouse, for that matter. Andy Lau is the cool cat, actually too cool. Hong Kong movie stars who are also Canto pop stars (and that accounts for some 90% of them) often have to watch the role they play in movies to ensure that they wouldn't tarnish their image as a singer. Andy Lau, however, is so popular that I don't think he needs that caution. He just like to look cool in this movie. Didn't hurt either, as it won him his first Hong Kong Oscar.

Finally, while this is a good movie from director Johnny To, my top favorite of his is The Mission, in which style is king.

I've recently seen An zhan. Not because it was a Hong Kong film, but because I was looking for a change from the films being produced here in the US. In my humble opinion, I believe the film could easily compete against the action thrillers being produced here, except for the traditional idiocyncracies of Hong Kong film. The one that still bothers me was the chief inspector character. I still don't understand why there has to be a complete-idiot-comic-relief-type character even in the serious films that come out of Hong Kong, but I can live with it when the movie is this good. The characters are believable even if the situations they are in are not. The story is fast paced and really sucks you in to it. The real cincher scenes for me were the two bus rides that the thief character takes. Overall, a really solid film.

This film is a refreshing change of pace from the mindless Hong Kong triad movies I have grown so tired of. There are no spectacular gun fights. No car chases. And practically minimal action to speak of. The audience is kept in suspense for the most part, though certain aspects of the so called "ploy" by Andy Lau are quite obvious.

The film has been hailed as a departure from the genre of violent triad films, and as an "intelligent" crime film. To an extent, it is. But, to some extent, it still fails the "believability" test. One can hardly picture any triad member to be dumb enough to not see through the female disguise of Andy Lau in a second. It also seemed to have fallen for the "if someone was seriously ill, the said someone will be coughing up copious amounts of blood regularly" thing Chinese films seem to go for all the time.

The subtle relationship between the two lead characters is a refreshing change.

All in all an enjoyable film, even though the concept is not new and there are few surprises. >