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Reviewed 5/29/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Mei Ah / 1999 / 95 minutes
Directed by Wilson Yip Wai Shun
Written by Matt Chow Hoi-Kwong, Wilson Yip Wai Shun, Cheung Man

Wilson Yip Wai Shun made films like Daze Raper and Teaching Sucks! before breaking out with the well-received Biozombie in 1998. This film was his follow-up, and also his second in colloboration with scriptwriter Matt Chow Hoi-Kwong.

The film was released in Hong Kong cinemas in late 1999.

Yip and Chow next worked together on Juliet in Love, released in March 2000. Yip's most recent film was Skyline Cruisers, released in November 2000.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Plot: Experienced police investigator Mike and his younger partner Brian are assigned to track down a dangerous, cold-blooded murderer/thief named Dragon. Acting on a tip from an informant, the two cops move into the high-rise apartment of an older lady (Granny) so they can keep an eye on a weapons dealer across the street, with whom Dragon is "sure" to do business. Before 24 hours pass, Granny thinks the cops are her sons, Brian is infatuated with the teenage Yen, and Mike is helping a pregnant dry cleaner (Tin Yuen) get to a hospital. And that's before Dragon shows up . . .

Performances: Both Francis Ng Chun-Yu as Mike and Louis Koo Tin Lok as Brian give fine portrayals of their characters. Supporting performances by Helena Law Lan (as Granny), Mok Nga Lun (AKA Michelle Alicia Saram) (as Yen), and Lam Mei-Jing (as Tin Yuen) enhance the familiar story.

Production: The script is generally well-written, although some of the plot twists are a bit hard to swallow. The direction is well-paced and brisk throughout both the dramatic and humorous segments, and the action scenes (choreographed by Adam Chan Chung-Tai) are tense and terse. A surfeit of dramatic tricks (slow motion, freeze frame, etc.) nearly break the narrative flow at one point (and are really not needed), but at other times provide a welcome variety to the storytelling. The cinematography (by multi-talented Lam Wah-Chuen) is a bit grungy but fits the near-documentary flavor; on the other hand, it's not without natural bites of color to liven up the scenery. The editing (by Cheung Ka-Fai, the ace responsible for Big Bullet and Task Force among many others) is first-rate, as is the extremely varied musical score (by Tommy Wai Kai-Leung, whose many credits include Time and Tide and the upcoming Visible Secret), bouncing between a jazzy backbeat, dissonant harmonies, and a percussive drive.

Rating: Category IIB. Quite a bit of gunshot violence and blood spray, mostly limited to a couple of action sequences.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Look: The letterboxed (approximately 1.85:1) presentation is adequate. While the black levels are deep, the colors are saturated, and the flesh tones look natural, the source print appears dirty, resulting in a display of minor blemishes, scratches, and splotches throughout the running time. These imperfections do not render the disk unwatchable by any means, but it is disappointing to see that such a recent theatrical release is only available in this kind of condition.

Sound: Four audio tracks are provided: Cantonese DD 2.0 and 5.1, and Mandarin DD 2.0 and 5.1. I listened mostly to the Cantonese DD 5.1 track and the results were mixed. While the dialogue sounded clear and the musical score natural, some of the sound effects (explosions and gun battles) were a bit muffled, lacking the dynamic range present in the equivalent Mandarin track. As expected, the sound field of the Cantonese DD 2.0 track was not as expansive for the surrounds, but the muffling of the explosions et. al. were not as noticeable.

Subtitles: Numerous misspellings marred the white removable English subtitles (a few that baffled me momentarily), but no more than usual for experienced HK subtitle readers. Also included are traditional and simplified Chinese as well as Thai subtitles.

Features: Nine chapters may be selected from a still-picture menu. The "data bank" consists of a brief synopsis and cast and crew listing. Also provided are trailers for the original theatrical release and for The Mission (located by clicking on "best buy").

Buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. Highly recommended. An excellent police drama interspersed with comedy and a couple of exciting action sequences. My only reservation is in regard to the DVD quality.

 

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