Running on Karma

I'm sitting her slack jawed and wondering what in the hell these people were smoking or ingesting when they made this off kilter little film. To say that this film is unique is an understatement.

A body building ex-monk who dances as a male stripper and who can see the future gets mixed up with a police woman going after a killer. Mix in some laughs, comic book villains, some very bloody deaths, some serious action, discussions of the nature of the universe and predestination; shake well and perhaps, just perhaps you may get an idea of what this film by Johnnie To is like. Then again you may not since this film operates in its own orbit, going from pillar to post on its own crazy course.

Its a flawed film, thats so incredibly quirky that it never really seems to pull it all together. Normally not pulling it all together will kill a film, but here you don't really mind simply because it simply being different than pretty much any other film ever made. Its not a bad thing, unless you're looking for a movie that you're going to want to watch more than once.

If you want to see a movie thats certainly unlike any other film out there this film is for you. But be warned its bumpy and imperfect and you may hate yourself for liking it in the morning.

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.

I feel that the plot is excellent: A Buddhist monk who is able to "see" past choices that lead to present day Karma. This was an excellent plot but... They should have made it more of a love story, i.e. a strong attachment by the viewer between "Big" and the police woman. And somehow it should have had a clearer ending. the plot had a potential for a great movie. Also it would have been nice to have a good ending. There were some interesting things in the movie...For example, the director certainly understood something about karma as explained by buddhist. I recalled in the movie when the monk says that the Japanese soldier is a different person than the policewoman, but that she is carrying his karma. That is an interesting distinction from the Hindu explanation of karma.

About the movie, it's entertaining, wonderful story, fantastic make-up techniques and efforts, Cecilia Cheung has improved a lot in interpreting the young policewoman who is in search of a good life ending, good good good as a whole...

Yet, please tell me the names of the two Indians who have taken pains to act well at the beginning? Why no credits to them? I kept searching for their names both in Chinese translation or English romanization from the roller for three times but in vain. Discrimination against the Indians or Pakistani does exist in Hong Kong. But now even China is taking about something like "bridging with the international scene", please learn something from USA or Europe. On their film rollers, carpenters or people who has taken small part(s) got their names on it. That's international.

What do you want from your movies? A shaolin monk turned stripper/bodybuilder with psychic abilities? A young female Hong Kong cop cursed by her former life as a murderous WW2 Japanese soldier? A mysterious mountain-dwelling, serial-killing hermit who's evaded the authorities for five years? A karmic feud between two men dating back generations? A rage-filled police chief who thinks nothing of beating and/or killing suspects to get results? Well, look no further than Running on Karma! Co-Directors Johnny To and Wai Ka Fai throw all these ingredients into the mixer and come up with one original cinematic cocktail. By turns funny, tragic, romantic, horrific and action packed, Running on Karma is a film that could only have been made in Hong Kong. Great performances from Cecilia Cheung and Andy Lau make you care about the characters and their fates, despite the loopy/deep(?) storyline that will have your brain spinning. No description of this film is a match for actually seeing it, so what are you waiting for?