R E V I E W

A Better Tomorrow

Mega Star, Anchor Bay  |  1986  |  94 minutes
Directed by John Woo
Written by Chan Hing-Kar, Chan Suk Wa, John Woo

With Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Waise Lee

B A C K G R O U N D
director, in cinemas, recent and related films

Director John Woo had been making films for nearly ten years with diminishing success. Producer Tsui Hark gave him the opportunity to make this film, which finally established his career and made stars out of journeyman actor Chow Yun-Fat and singer Leslie Cheung.

The film opened in Hong Kong cinemas in August 1986 and was a smash. It played for two months and grossed HK $34.6 million.

The success of this film prompted the release one month later of the completed but shelved Heroes Shed No Tears and led to a disappointing sequel the following year.

M O V I E

plot
Ho is the older brother of Kit. Ho is a gangster, and the flashy Mark is his cohort. Kit is idealistic, naive, and spoiled -- his brother has carefully concealed his criminal career from him -- and ready to graduate from the police academy. Their lives change forever when Ho and Mark are involved in a crime gone terribly wrong.

performances
In a word, sterling. Ti Lung (as Ho), Leslie Cheung (as Kit), and Chow Yun-Fat (as Mark) embody heartbreaking yet indefatigable characters, with good balance provided by the cold-hearted Waise Lee. Emily Chu Bo Yee played Kit's wife.

production
The direction by John Woo may be what draws viewers initially. But, since that's been discussed extensively in books, magazine articles, and web sites, let's just touch on that and then consider the story.

A few months ago I watched the first 30-45 minutes three times during the same week, the third time without subtitles. The visual poetry is astonishing. Just watch it and notice where the camera is placed at the beginning of each scene, and how it moves within the frame. The frequent use of slow motion may seem overdone or borrowed, but it's used for just the right amount of time within scenes. Notice another effective stylistic technique: about 30 minutes into the film, Ti Lung (as Ho) is sitting in the prison yard and Leslie Cheung (as his younger brother Kit) is training in the police academy. At one point Kit faces the camera and shoots his gun repeatedly. Ho sits reading a letter. The camera pushes in on both of them and the scene cuts quickly back and forth. The implication is clear.

Now the story. Several viewings of the film have convinced me that Kit's anger at his brother stems from his own inability to save his father from being killed. After all, Kit arrived home in time, he just wasn't able to keep the assassin from finishing the job. Kit bottles up, or won't admit, that it was his own shortcomings that allowed the death of his father. Rather than admit to this, in his self-loathing he selfishly blames his older brother. No doubt Kit also felt foolish after realizing that his brother was able to deceive him and keep his true profession as a powerful Triad member a secret from him.

What helps propel the film to a higher level is the acting of Ti Lung (Ho), Leslie Cheung (Kit), and Chow Yun-Fat (Mark) in a supporting role. All three play characters searching for personal redemption. Ho obviously wants to atone for his criminal past, and the wrongs he has committed against his family, and so willingly sacrifices himself. Kit doesn't acknowledge that he needs any kind of redemption, instead ignoring his wife and selfishly blaming his brother for all his troubles (and, incidentally, if he's such a good policeman, why does he foolishly run into two traps set for him by the criminals he supposedly knows so well?). Mark desperately wants to regain his former status and reestablish his brotherhood with Ho. The film plays as a memory piece -- each is trapped by the past and struggles to deal with it in his own way.

Director Woo does not avoid the melodrama inherent in the situation - instead, he embraces it. The violence is showy, but it cannot be denied that the images burn indelible impressions on the screen. The extent to which the film affects the viewer may well be defined by the viewer's own relationship with his or her siblings. For some of us, it cuts very deep indeed.

Sometimes forgotten in discussions of Woo's Hong Kong films are the contributions of his director of photography, Horace Wong Wing-Hang. The lighting is realistic with a touch of oversaturated colors. So the blood looks quite red and only a little exaggerated in the near-documentary but fluid filming style. Wong's work can also be seen in such films as A Moment of Romance, The Final Option, Too Many Ways to be No. 1, and The Accidental Spy.

rating
Category II. Numerous depictions of bloody violence, inflicted by guns and fists.

D V D

look, sound, subtitles, features

I've only seen the Mega Star (Media Asia) version, which was barely acceptable, with somewhat washed-out colors, English subtitles with numerous errors, etc.

January 2001 saw the release of a Region 1 version from Anchor Bay. If you're interested in a comparison of the two disks, the site to visit is Love and Bullets, which has a comprehensive comparison as well as screen shots.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N
buy, rent, or pass?

Buy. A deeply moving film, somewhat overshadowed by its reputation as the first in the 'bullet ballet' genre.

(Reviewed 12/04/01)

THIS DVD IS AVAILABLE AT HKFLIX.COM