Gong woo

The general consensus among HK cinema followers is that Jiang Hu suffers from this and that, so I expected it to be mediocre. Truth is, it turned out to be the most delightful surprise in many years. Right from the start, the bar scenes are filled with energy and dazzling lighting effects, maximizing the cinematic excitement. The film's retrospective score and set design evoke the old Chinese city which was previous achieved to perfection only by Wong Kar Wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. Jiang Hu's director seems to have learned more than a few tricks from Kar Wai, from utilizing well-placed retrospective songs to capturing the moment for maximum mood. This is to say, Jiang Hu is an outstanding work of art that captures the essence of triad life-cycle and blood brotherhood.

Watching Jiang Hu is like experiencing the 21th century Chinese update of The Godfather or any number of European and Italian American gangster classics in the 60s/70s. In our jiang hu, Loyalty is at stake. Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung, two of HK's finest, reprise their boss-follower roles from AS TEARS GO BY, complete with Jacky's impulsiveness and Andy's more calm personality. Their pure friendship from years ago is turning pale as Jacky's ambition pull him towards the dark side.

While Jacky favors violence as primary resort, Andy Lau's character is more of a pacifist. I find his peaceful resolution approach representative of Buddhist ideology in some manner. When warned that Jacky may turn against him, Andy responds: "I am not worried. If my death is what it takes to make Jacky realize the meaning of blood brothers, then so be it." Andy has reached the top of the game, where money and fame have lost their meaning. He only wishes to change his old friend for the better before time runs out. But Andy does not shove this idea down Jacky's throat; he shows Jacky the way through demonstrations of sophistication and wit, instead of blood and force. In the end, after leaving his words, Andy walks away from the table. Whether Jacky accepts his invitation to recover their brotherly bonding is up to Jacky.

Some viewers have pointed out the lack of brutality/blood. This ties back to Andy's philosophy that success can be achieved without blood, as he expresses many times in the movie. It is a central theme to the story.

Another criticism is about the two intertwined story lines - some think it's confusing. However, let's not forget this kind of narrative structure is featured prominently in Godfather Part II, considered a classic. In that movie, 2 parallel story lines, involving the present day Michael and previous accounts of Vito Corleone, switch back and forth throughout the movie -- very similar to the style of Jiang Hu. I personally think Jiang Hu's approach is even superior to Coppola's classic, since here the parallelism is much stronger (and perhaps more meaningful).

Jiang Hu is the third masterpiece I saw in 2004 (the other two being GONG FU and 2046), a fairly kind year for HK cinema. The film is a bit showy at times, but above all, Jiang Hu is more than a standard gangster flick; its artistic passion yields a touch of timelessness which I suspect will outendure many genre classics. As I write this review in October 2005, no HK film I have seen this year comes close to exhibiting Jiang Hu's rare quality to honor the integrity of the medium.

TRIAD UNDERWORLD is a little masterpiece of cinema. Though it was made in 2004 it is only now available in this country courtesy of Palisade Tartan Asia Extremes, but the wait was well worth it. Not only is the story (as written by Chi-Long To and Director Ching-Po Wong) mesmerizing through out the film, but the fact that it pulls a Guy de Maupassant-type ending that takes the audience by complete surprise. The aspect that makes this film an art work is the extraordinary creative cinematography by Charlie Lam and Kenny Lam: every frame of film is like a masterpiece of lighting and brilliant use of colors that give clues to the characters and the story - shots taken from beneath a glass floor during a fight, interludes of a near blank black screen except for windows of carefully suggestive color and luminous lighting, extensive use of slow motion photography during the very choreographed fight sequences all contribute to the mood of the Hong Kong underworld in the finest manner. The musical score by Mark Lui also deserves special recognition: often soundless mayhem is accompanied by ballades using both Eastern and Western thematic material.

The story seems rather straightforward: Triad leader Hung Yan-jau (Andy Lau)'s wife gives birth to a baby boy, and event that causes Hung to consider considers leaving the world of the gangsters. Hung's closest lifelong friend Left Hand AKA Lefty (Jacky Cheung) reminds Hung that Hung has always said he would leave the crime world if he had a wife and child. Lefty is more the playboy and both Hung and Lefty own spectacular restaurants. Should Hung decide to leave, taking his wife (Chien-lien Wu) and newborn son to New Zealand then the head of the Triad would pass to Lefty. Despite disagreements the two men stick together, especially when it becomes known that two young members of a rival gang Wing (Shawn Yue) and Turbo (Edison Chen) are out to become the next leaders of Hong Kong's famous 'jiang- hu' underworld and they are ordered by the competitive gang to Triad to kill Hung. There are brutal encounters and balletic street fights that take place outside the seeming quiet elegant restaurant dinner being observed by Hung and Lefty in honor of Hung's newborn boy. And at the denouement the roles of all concerned are revealed in a terrifically exciting manner! What had seemed to be action inside and outside is actually an amalgam of past and present!

The cast is uniformly excellent and the pace of direction is impeccable in arriving at the surprising ending. But the true glory of this film is the cinematic magic: a more artistic use of film would be difficult to imagine. This is one of those movies that should be part of the libraries of audiences who love fine thrillers and art lovers who are keen on performance art. Highly recommended.

Grady Harp

First of all, I have to say, the acting in this film is aces! Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung are terrific as two best friends who are powerful gangsters. Edison Cheng and Shawn Yue are also very engaging to watch as two young men involved in the gangster underworld. The scenes, the camera work, the peculiarly cheery music playing in the background all add to the pure visual pleasure. This is a great stylish looking film. One of the most watchable scenes in this movie was simply Andy Lau's character and Jacky Cheung's character having a meal in an empty, elegant Italian restaurant. These two actors play off each other very well. It was riviting to watch them talk to each other.

But the story? I had trouble figuring out the story. I rented this movie without English subtitles and my understanding of cantonese is very general.

I watched it twice to figure out everything. The twist in the end is surprising but not very satisfying.

What I got from this movie was this: this is not really a typical Hong Kong gangster film. This film is really about the deep friendship and love (I mean the platonic kind) between two good friends.

Is this film worth watching? Absolutely. Is the story good? So so. Even though I was not particularly satisfied with the ending, I still think it's a film worth watching and enjoying.

I find this movie to be very cleverly written and directed. IMDb has the wrong names however. Jacky Cheung's character is called Mr. Left not Left Hand and Shawn Yue's characters name is Yik. All that aside, I really liked this movie. It's not your typical triad movie with lots of fighting and no character development. Don't get me wrong there is some action in this movie but unlike most triad movies you actually care what happens to the characters. I loved the dinner scene where Hung and Lefty are talking and the room behind them seems to be moving in an odd fashion, maybe it was a play off their emotions but I thought it looked really cool.

I was a bit surprised by what this movie really was about. Because as you are watching it you think you know exactly what the movie is about and where its going, but the last 15-20 minutes gets you. You realize that you don't really know anything, everything you thought you knew is wrong.

Before getting a copy of this, I looked into the details. Gangster movie? Cool. A hit on a mob boss? Interesting. Andy Lau? Even better. Jacky Cheung, Edison Chen, Eric Tsang, Wu Chien Lien, and Shawn Yu? Awesome.

I almost thought, "What is this, Infernal Affairs all over again?"

So I had pretty high expectations. I started the movie. I was pretty impressed throughout with the camera work. There was a definite style in this movie. But the movie seemed to head nowhere. I was more eager to see what happens in each scene rather than in the movie as a whole.

So it follows two punks about to kill and a mob boss trying to find his traitor. Big Deal. For an 85 minute movie it seemed to take forever to get there. And throughout most of the movie all I could think was, "So what? What does that have to do with anything?"

Then the ending hits. If you've read any of the other reviews, you'll know that it completely changes the whole movie. I have to admit, it was genuinely cool.

But should a movie completely hinge on a single plot twist? I think not, though I admit I can't really see how they could have done it any other way.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Despite the smart twist at the end, you will probably feel a little dissatisfied. However, if you want to see some stylish film-making, great acting, and find out what the plot twist is, definitely check it out. The movie is definitely made for the experience.