marta2046
Joined Oct 2004
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Reviews13
marta2046's rating
One of the best films I've seen in years. (The director, Derek Yee, wrote and directed the excellent ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK)
Watching it was like going into a surreal alternate universe--part horror, part human drama, part cop story.
The plot description does not do it justice, as it sounds like a typical HK action drama, or at best a copycat of INFERNAL AFFAIRS, or TRAFFIC.
This harrowing film is complex and has its own vision. Addiction, despair and betrayal are at its core.
The cop-mole plot is only part of the story. The world of heroin is explored on several levels: poppy growers, "cookers", suppliers, an amazing sequence in Thailand in the heart of the "Golden Triangle", and --best of all-- a look inside the world of a young mother and heroin addict-- which is shot with such a dreamlike but gritty reality you are horrified yet entranced.
The cinematographer and production designer should be commended for creating such a fascinating universe for the actors to inhabit.
The actors all give strong performances, but it's Zhang Jing Chu who is mesmerizing and heartbreaking as Jane, who plays the heroin addict as if she were a "living ghost."
Watching it was like going into a surreal alternate universe--part horror, part human drama, part cop story.
The plot description does not do it justice, as it sounds like a typical HK action drama, or at best a copycat of INFERNAL AFFAIRS, or TRAFFIC.
This harrowing film is complex and has its own vision. Addiction, despair and betrayal are at its core.
The cop-mole plot is only part of the story. The world of heroin is explored on several levels: poppy growers, "cookers", suppliers, an amazing sequence in Thailand in the heart of the "Golden Triangle", and --best of all-- a look inside the world of a young mother and heroin addict-- which is shot with such a dreamlike but gritty reality you are horrified yet entranced.
The cinematographer and production designer should be commended for creating such a fascinating universe for the actors to inhabit.
The actors all give strong performances, but it's Zhang Jing Chu who is mesmerizing and heartbreaking as Jane, who plays the heroin addict as if she were a "living ghost."
I so much wanted to give this film 10 stars.
It has the charismatic, world-class actor Shin Shin Ha-kyun (SAVE THE GREEN PLANET, MY BROTHER, NO MERCY FOR THE RUDE) and the story is deeply emotional.
However, the first part of the film plays too much like a TV romance despite the great acting. The music is incredibly sugary, and kept hammering that "this is an emotional scene." OK! We get it! Trust the actors and the story to get us there. Unless it's a musical, soundtracks in modern films should be nearly subliminal, added only as subtext.
This film must have been adapted from a novel (a good one, I imagine). It abruptly jumps POV to Soo-hee's life in Seoul, several times, which is fine in a novel, but disrupts the flow in this film. There are jump cuts in time and character's mentioned that are never shown so it's hard to keep the relationships straight. I'm a careful viewer, yet did not realize till midway that Soo-hee and Seung-jae were cousins-- I thought they were just friends/neighbors.
That said, the last 20 minutes of the film (starting shortly before the magical and heartbreaking underwater sequence) are brilliant, and make up for any defects in the rest of the film.
I'd recommend a watch simply on that sequence-- yes, it's THAT good. (I watched that part three times)
On a tech note. The DVD I rented said it was 174 minutes (almost 3 hours!) Fortunately, that is NOT correct. It's actually slightly less than 1 hour, 45 minutes.
It has the charismatic, world-class actor Shin Shin Ha-kyun (SAVE THE GREEN PLANET, MY BROTHER, NO MERCY FOR THE RUDE) and the story is deeply emotional.
However, the first part of the film plays too much like a TV romance despite the great acting. The music is incredibly sugary, and kept hammering that "this is an emotional scene." OK! We get it! Trust the actors and the story to get us there. Unless it's a musical, soundtracks in modern films should be nearly subliminal, added only as subtext.
This film must have been adapted from a novel (a good one, I imagine). It abruptly jumps POV to Soo-hee's life in Seoul, several times, which is fine in a novel, but disrupts the flow in this film. There are jump cuts in time and character's mentioned that are never shown so it's hard to keep the relationships straight. I'm a careful viewer, yet did not realize till midway that Soo-hee and Seung-jae were cousins-- I thought they were just friends/neighbors.
That said, the last 20 minutes of the film (starting shortly before the magical and heartbreaking underwater sequence) are brilliant, and make up for any defects in the rest of the film.
I'd recommend a watch simply on that sequence-- yes, it's THAT good. (I watched that part three times)
On a tech note. The DVD I rented said it was 174 minutes (almost 3 hours!) Fortunately, that is NOT correct. It's actually slightly less than 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Oh, yeah, this is one brilliant, edgy, dark piece of film-making! It moves at the speed of light starting with the American Occupation of the devastated city of Hiroshima after WWII up to the early 1970's.
It has great actors playing complex characters, and cinematography and editing way ahead of its time.
Turn off your phone and don't look away for even a second, or you'll miss something critical. There are many characters and lots of information to absorb.
I've read that the script was based on the life of a real Yakuza, but whether it's fact or fiction, it's a hell of a ride.
And though it's a serious film, sometimes it's also hilarious-- intentionally so.
Warning--not for the squeamish. Unlike the Tarentino films this has been compared to, the violence here is NOT cartoonish or funny. It's brutal, bloody, and serious. (as it should be, in my opinion)
It has great actors playing complex characters, and cinematography and editing way ahead of its time.
Turn off your phone and don't look away for even a second, or you'll miss something critical. There are many characters and lots of information to absorb.
I've read that the script was based on the life of a real Yakuza, but whether it's fact or fiction, it's a hell of a ride.
And though it's a serious film, sometimes it's also hilarious-- intentionally so.
Warning--not for the squeamish. Unlike the Tarentino films this has been compared to, the violence here is NOT cartoonish or funny. It's brutal, bloody, and serious. (as it should be, in my opinion)