| JOYLEEN'S REPORT ON THE
SYDNEY FESTIVAL: Beast Cops
One of those few movies that actually lives up to its hype. It is nothing like what I
expected at all. But to be honest, I was a bit confused myself as to what I expected. I
REALLY like Anthony Wong and Sam Lee. I REALLY dislike Michael
Wong. The former were better than ever, and Michael Wong did a surprisingly good
job also, enough so that I stopped cringing after a few scenes and really enjoyed the film
- A LOT. I guess Anthony and Sam's brilliance must have
rubbed off a bit. I might even go ahead and get some of those movies that I have been
putting off watching due to the fact that he appears in them.
Expect the Unexpected
Very cool, indeed. Simon Yam is wonderful as usual, and though I have
only recently "discovered" Lau Ching-Wan, he is quickly working
his way into my favourite actors list. This was another film that I had been eagerly
awaiting and it did not disappoint. "Me thinks a few more viewings are in
order!"
Hitman
I had seen this movie plenty of times before and it still ranks as one of my fave Jet
Li flicks. So much humour. The casting of Jet Li with Eric
Tsang was a stroke of genius - Jet's flair for deadpan comedy
finally comes to the fore. And it was especially nice to see him up on the big screen
again, not that you can keep up with his flying limbs any easier when they are a few
metres longer than usual.
The Kid
The second I heard about this movie, I knew I would love it. I do. And the funny thing is
that it is one of those movies that you like more and more after the event. I found myself
reflecting at odd moments about how proud I was that those involved didn't opt for the
sappy Hollywood-style ending - you know the one, Ti-Lung and Lam hook
up, and the Leslie Cheung and Qi Qi characters fall for
each other (regardless of how ill-suited they were) and live with the adorable Sing
happily ever after. The end result is that The Kid is a truly beautiful
film.
The Longest Summer
As a general rule, one of my favourite features of HK cinema is the melding of styles. In
this film, the humour is quite often refreshingly brilliant and the drama scenes are
suitably tense. The only "fault" I can find with this film, if you can call it a
fault, is that the frequent shifts between drama and humour were not as smooth as we have
come to expect. There were a few times when I was a bit unsure how to take a particular
scene. But this seems to be a recurring theme of Fruit Chan's, and his
movies are, above all else, original. As a side note, the theme track for this film ranks
as one of my all-time favourite Andy Lau songs.
Moonlight Express
This is the only film of the festival that I had already seen on the big screen before.
"What's better than seeing a film in which Leslie Cheung's face
takes up the whole screen?" "Seeing TWO movies in which Leslie Cheung's
face takes up the whole screen!" (Re: The Kid). I think this film is
absolutely wonderful and I particularly love the ending/beginning.
The Storm Riders
Aahhh! Finally, we get to tales of Striding Cloud and Whispering Wind. During the festival
there were a number of films that I was looking forward to because I had never seen them
before, the other half were films I had already seen but was looking forward to seeing
again regardless. However, no movie was as eagerly anticipated by this little munchkin as The
Storm Riders. Anyone remotely familiar with the film will tell you that Storm
Riders simply MUST be seen on the big screen to appreciate the full glory of the
experience. Well, that's my opinion anyway, and I am sticking to it.
AFI Conversation on Film
What a rare honour to get to meet Ti Lung, Jacob Cheung and
Stephen Teo. It is a memory I will treasure for many years to come.
Especially as it is reinforced every time I watch one of their films or read some of Stephen
Teo's excellent text on the history of HK filmmaking.
The opportunity for fans of The Kid to communicate directly with Ti
Lung and Jacob Cheung was much appreciated. Personally, I found
it to be a bit of a shame that I couldn't understand much of what was being said (I'm
learning Chinese, but not fast enough). Stephen Teo did a great job
mediating, but it was obvious that much valuable insight was lost in the translation.
Meeting Ti Lung was quite surreal. Obviously, his is a very familiar face
to me and I think I must have looked a bit like a stunned mullet for a while there. It was
as if part of my brain was saying, "Yep, everything checks out" while another
part was saying, "Woooh, hold on a sec, something about this picture just doesn't add
up". It probably had something to do with the fact that he was life size and had that
tricky third dimension tacked on to him that I am not used to.
Anyway, for what it's worth, I REALLY enjoyed the HK Film Festival (it was easily worth
the four hour round trip to Chinatown each night). I am already salivating at the prospect
of another one next year. But for now I think I will sign off and go and practice some
Cloud Palms, Wind Kicks and Frost Fists. Or maybe I'll just go and watch the movie for the
hundredth time. We have a pretty big TV, it's almost as good as the real thing. ALMOST.
- Joyleen
EUGENE'S REPORT ON THE SYDNEY FESTIVAL:
Eugene Chew has written an excellent Hong Kong Film Festival 1999
analysis, which comments on both the films shown as well as how they reflect the state of
both the industry and Hong Kong society. There are in-depth reviews of The Kid, Moonlight
Express and Tempting Heart, as well as short reviews of Expect the
Unexpected and The Storm Riders, plus commentary on current themes in Hong
Kong cinema, and what's wrong with it. The lengthy article is well worth
a read, and appears on the Toto ::
Cinema Matters page. Rather than repeat it, go to the original. (Be warned that the
article does contain a few spoilers, though.)
MARK'S REPORT ON THE SYDNEY FESTIVAL:
Coming soon!
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