I saw 'Lethal Hostage' at a film festival in which I had the pleasure of meeting the director and to gain some insights that perhaps aren't obvious to the average English-language viewer. For one thing, the title in Chinese is something more like "Storms Over the Border" rather than "Lethal Hostage", which the director doesn't like.
This crime story is incredibly artistic. The moods and colour schemes perfectly accompany the complex, yet relatively simply told story. The acting is well-directed. But what really stood out to me was the sound scheme (both the music and the sound design). It was almost like another character in the film. It was so present, and yet never overbearing, and contributed wonderfully to the rhythm and mood of the film. I've rarely seen films use sound so well.
I want to throw in a mention of the director, Cheng Er's incredible talents. This is his second film in fourteen years. He not only wrote and directed this film, but also edited it, and contributed heavily to the sound design.
I would recommend this film to anyone interested in crime-related Chinese art films.
