San taam

It's been a while since To and Wai's last collaboration, but apparently the time apart did them a whole lot of good. Mad Detective (or Sun Taam, if you wish) is another shining star on To's ever-growing list of first class titles. Stylishly executed, cleverly scripted and dare I say quite original. HK genre cinema doesn't get any better than this.

To's been on a winning streak these last couple of years and with Mad Detective he's really at the top of his game. The film is filled with typical To elements, but also benefits a lot from Wai's creative writing. Mad Detective is one of these rare films that makes you feel like you're watching something novel and original.

Ching Wan Lau, a To regular, is taking on one of the best roles of his career. Lau plays Bun, a detective who's equally brilliant as he is insane. While his methods of investigation are irregular, his behavior is condoned as he's able to solve case upon case. The key to Bun's success is his ability to see behind people's masks. He sees every aspects of a single person as a separate individual. All goes well until Bun's retirement, when his genius is quickly degraded to simple madness.

In Mad Detective, we see Bun chasing after a guy with no less than 7 personalities (though only three of them are dominant). The film is often changing perspectives which keeps the viewer well on its toes. One character is actually played by 8 different actors and To doesn't give too many warnings. But looking back, the film isn't that hard to follow or figure out and the concept never sits in the way of the basic storyline.

Visually To only seems to improve. There are plenty of awesomely framed shots, neatly lit and even though the film has an overall dark overtone, colors really jump of the screen. And while To keeps on making films at a staggering rate, it's impressive to see how visually accomplished each and every one of his later films are.

Another definite plus is the soundtrack. Though often light in tone it doesn't hurt the atmosphere one bit, but only underlines the sad but dark overtones of Bun's madness. Strange sounds are brought together to form music, sometimes quirky melodies are used, but the music never feels out of place. More so, it does an excellent job at defining To's style and helps to shape his films. Not as in your face as the soundtrack of Sparrow, but once you start listing you'll notice how weird it really is.

It would've been quite easy to push the film into one direction, but To manages to keep a healthy balance. One moment Bun's actions can be rather amusing, a couple of minutes later there's a definite sadness to his character. And even though it's actually a dark and personal tale of a sick individual, the film is also able to keep its soft and creative edge, never choosing sides between being a character portrait or purely story-driven film making.

Mad Detective is a film where everything works out. Excellent cast, creative and original perspective, a solid storyline, stylishly visualized and magnificently scored. The film has no weak points, unless you prefer film making to stay in more familiar territory. if so, I suggest you wait for one of the big Hollywood directors to turn it into a lifeless, soulless and old-fashioned crime/drama. If that doesn't sound too appealing, be sure to check out To's Mad Detective. If anything, it's one of the best recent examples there's still plenty of life and creativity left in sculpting stories.

Together with Sparrow, To proves himself to be one of the most interesting directors in cinema today. His genre films are strong, original and seamlessly executed and seem to lack any weak points. Mad Detective is a definite recommend. 4.5*/5.0*

Not a masterpiece, but an interesting angle on a police drama with a lot of atmosphere, and definitely entertaining. This cop pulled out of retirement is like a comic book character - he has the power to see people's inner selves/personalities (sometimes multiple), and he can also instantly ascertain who's committed a crime if he immerses himself into some aspect of it. For example, during the opening credits he figures a crime out by having himself put into a suitcase and tossed down several flights of stairs, and he learns more in the main story by digging a grave out in the woods and burying himself. He's formidable but he's off the force for a reason - he's a little unhinged (hence the title), having sliced off an ear ala Van Gogh when his boss retires, and seeing an imaginary version of his wife from the past who's left him. The character allows for a film that's filled with shifting points of view, where we see what's in his mind's eye and then reality as he tries to prove the crimes of a dirty cop, which was pretty fun. There was also a nice little dark tinge in the ending, with the hint that the pattern recurs, something I also liked.

Johnnie To and Ka-Fai Wai have reinvented the detective genre and things will probably never be the same.

Inspector Ho is stumped by the disappearance of a detective 18 months earlier.Desperate for a break he looks to Bun, a genius profiler with whom he briefly worked years before...when Bun went crazy and was thrown off the force. A funny, tense un-nerving cop drama where nothing is certain. Is Bun a genius or crazy? Has Ho lost his mind? Where will it all end? Its a trip. I'd tell you more but I'm still trying to process what I saw since things shift from our reality to Bun's, often so its not clear. Its a trip and then some. Actually I'd be very surprised if this film doesn't end up with a cult following, an American remake and lots of articles written about it. Its just a nifty little thriller.

Definitely worth a viewing or two.

Johnnie To & Wai Ka-Fai's Mad Detective is a film that turns the Hong Kong crime genre upon it's head. Based around the simple concept of a man that can see everyone's hidden persona's, Mad Detective is anything but formulaic and right from the very start dissuades any notion that this is just another flashy HK crime flick. Lau Ching-Wan stars as the eponymous Mad Detective, Inspector Chan Kwai-Bun, a brilliant detective forced into retirement when his methods and actions become a little too bizarre. Alongside him Andy On plays young Inspector Ho who tries to enlist the aid of retired Inspector Bun to solve a complex murder case involving a missing police officer and a suspect with multiple personalities.

What follows is a highly ingenious, highly inventive and above all, highly entertaining piece of cinema. Paced perfectly, this viewer sat on the edge of his seat, intrigued and enthralled in equal measure and delighting and the simple, unrestrained freshness of this film and it's premise. Lau Ching-Wan plays his part exceptionally well as the oddball Inspector Bun, throwing all semblance of logic out of the window as he investigates the case, but it's a straight faced performance; there's no comedy here as the plot and it's characters take themselves very seriously. However, despite this it's hard not to find humour in some of the scenes involving multiple personalities, and whether this was the directors intent or not, it does provide a handful of light hearted moments that help to break up this complex and down-right weird film into more palatable pieces.

Overall, if you're looking for a crime film that's as inventive and intriguing as it is enjoyable, you can't go wrong with Mad Detective. See it now before Hollywood does an inevitable remake.

is the best HK movie I've watched ever since 'running out of time'. The idea of having the talent of seeing the split personality in person is refreshed and extraordinary. The 'ghost' mentioned in the movie were referring to the thoughts established after people were bullied, manipulated, pushed, forced to lose important things in their lives. Even the detective himself has ghost inside when he was forced out of his wife's life. When he explained why he cut off his ear, i was so shocked that I would consider myself doing some outrageous things just for the hell of it when I had the honour facing a man with no ghost inside. The gun shooting scene at the end is a classic. The camera shooting and editing must be a tremendous job to finish in order to represent the ghosts mirroring the gun holders. Wonderful movie