SYNOPSIS:
Wang, a twelve-year-old child with learning difficulties,
a weird janitor Dui and a subsitute teacher Miss Cheung meet
at a school setting. Chemicals ignite among them and without
aware of the influence they lighten up each other's lives.
What they do not know is Dui is instructed to assassinate
Wang and Miss Cheung's mission is to protect Wang. Finally
a bloodcurdling battle at the school begins...
MOVIE REVIEW:
It’s getting increasingly difficult to survive in showbiz
these days. You need to have more than one talent to make
your presence felt amongst the countless rising starlets.
Which is probably why, we are seeing acclaimed singer Eason
Chan more starring in movies these days. His latest screen
outing is this drama directed by up and coming Hong Kong director
Derek Kwok.
Together
with Lung Man Hong, they pen this tale of three lives coming
together in the most unexpected ways. A janitor (Chan), a
young boy (a very adorable Wen Jun Hui) and a teacher (a lovely
Gia Lin from Blood Brothers) bond together in a relationship
which makes for a good Hallmark moment. Of course, things
are not what they seem because the janitor is really a hit
man ordered to kidnap the boy so that his gang leader father
will come out from hiding. And in a more than coincidental
plot development, the teacher is also a hit man assigned to
protect the boy.
The
90 minute movie has been screened at different international
film festivals and has clinched quite a few awards. This means
the movie can’t be all that bad, especially when the
cast includes the reliable Eric Tsang (Dangerous Games, Kung
Fu Dunk), George Lam (we will always love his Guinness Stout
advertisements and his bushy moustache) and Siu Yam Yam (Run
Papa Run), who won the Best Supporting Actress at this year’s
Hong Kong Film Awards.
However,
there is nothing really groundbreaking here if you are expecting
to be blown away. There is the usual mobster element, the
expected warm and touching adult-child moments and the nicely
lit mood scenes to complement the competent performances.
O Sing Pui’s (Hollywood Hong Kong) cinematography gives
the movie an appropriate dark and moody look which increases
the viewing pleasure. The confident editing and the appealing
visual effects by Cedrick Chan (Hero) also affirm the quality
of the movie. These signature Hong Kong cinema moments seem
like a collection of elements you have seen from elsewhere
before.
Nevertheless,
this movie is still recommended for its engaging plot pacing
and commendable acting from the cast members. This movie is
considered to have earned its place in one of the better Hong
Kong productions we have seen in a while. Credit goes to director
Kwok, of course, for being able to bring the best elements
of Hong Kong cinema together.
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
This Code 3 DVD contains only a Trailer.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
disc’s visual transfer complements the O’s beautiful
cinematography, while there is only a Mandarin audio track
available.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review by John Li
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