Lou Lap

Yesterday, one director from Hongkong talked to many Koreans after watching his movie. He said : "Bruce Lee became a legend of silk screen through his short life. He only lived 32 years. After that Jacky Chan became a famous movie star. But Jacky became famous 40 years ago. Any young movie actor can compare him now. Just now in Hongkong, most of the movie actors and actress only can play as an extra in movies." I felt very complicated and sorry with his saying. From 1960s to 1990s, Hongkong was the center of film market in East Asia. But not now. After 1997, HK film industry is changed and many Korean movies and TV dramas stole priority in East Asia. Through his movie, he asked himself : " Is there any hope in Hongkong City?" I think this kind of question is really valuable to ask myself.

"Robbery" (aka "Lou Lap") caught my attention solely because it is a Hong Kong movie, and I do have a love for the Hong Kong cinema. So given the chance to watch this, I jumped at it right away without knowing what the movie was about or who starred in it.

This is one of the more offbeat and strange movies that I have seen come from the Hong Kong cinema, and it might actually not be in just everyone's liking. It is somewhat of an acquired taste, because the storyline has some absurdity to it, and because you don't really know what is going on throughout most of the movie.

With that being said, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that "Robbery" is a bad movie. I enjoyed it, although it is a movie that slowly, but surely grows on you. "Robbery" is a movie that I think primarily only hardcore fans of the Hong Kong cinema will enjoy and take to heart. I think the average movie viewer might find "Robbery" a tad too offbeat. But hey, it is all a matter of personal taste and preference of course, but at least give it a go if you get the chance.

The story is hard to summarize in order to fully do the movie real justice, so I will not even venture into that territory. No, "Robbery" is the kind of movie that has to be watched and experience in order to fully give the story and movie itself any justice.

While "Robbery" only has a single familiar face on the cast list, and that being Suet Lam, then I will say that all people on the cast list, despite it being only nine people, did really good jobs with their respective roles and characters.

"Robbery" is a movie that progress at its own rate, and it does so quite well. It is a movie that you need to let sink in under your skin and give it some thought. Director Ka Wing Lee (credited as Fire Lee) managed to put together a movie with a story that keeps the audience in the dark and guessing at what will happen next, and when the truth is unveiled, then it was a huge surprise and certainly something I hadn't seen coming.

This is a movie that might go unnoticed to most, but that would be an utmost shame, because "Robbery" is really a movie that needs to be experience. It is not just a movie that you watch, you experience it. I would actually go as far as saying that "Robbery" is a diamond in the rough in the Hong Kong cinema.

My final rating of "Robbery" is a score of seven out of ten stars.