R E V I E W :    Conman in Tokyo  

Reviewed 1/29/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Deltamac / 2000 / 103 minutes
Directed by Ching Siu-Tung
Written by ?? (no credit provided)

The celebrated director of such films as Duel to the Death, A Chinese Ghost Story, and Swordsman II does not seem like the obvious choice to direct the latest "conman" movie. I may be missing something, but I don't see any crossover behind the oeuvre of director Ching Siu-Tung and low-brow genius producer Wong Jing, but here they are, collaborating together on a movie without a credited screenwriter.

The film opened theatrically in Hong Kong in October 2000.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Nick Cheung Ka Fai aspires to be a great gambler. He appears to have reached the pinnacle of his profession after winning a pool match against his top competition -- the jazzy editing as well as the mocking song he and his friends sing help set the tone for this silly movie. He jets off to Japan on a shopping trip with his girlfriend (Christy Chung Lai-Tai). They end up in a restaurant where they encounter the owner (Louis Koo Tin Lok), who deftly defends himself against local gangsters. It turns out that the owner is a legendary gambler who retired after losing his girlfriend (Athena Chu Yun) to his former partner (Ben Lam Kwok Bun).

The plot is easier to follow than to write about -- despite the fact that no writer was credited -- and really just serves as an excuse for some goofy Wong Jing comedy and some nifty "flying cards" tricks. All the performers are adequate to the roles they play, and director Ching Siu-Tung keeps the action rolling along, no matter how improbable it sometimes appears -- just watch the concluding action set on a moored aircraft carrier for inspired insanity. My only real criticism is that the film runs a bit long at 103 minutes and could have lost at least a couple of scenes.

The film is rated Category IIB. Most of the violence is implicit with several big splatters of blood; only a couple of brief moments of explicit violence are depicted.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

This is the first DVD released by Deltamac that I have seen, and this letterboxed (1.85 to 1 ratio) presentation is a fine recommendation for the company. (Deltamac has only six other titles listed in the Asian DVD Guide, among them Fly Me to Polaris and Sausalito.) The fleshtones are natural if a touch saturated, the black levels are deep, and the colors are bright and vibrant.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks are provided. I listened to the Cantonese 5.1 track and it sounded excellent, with distinct channel separation and frequent use of surround channels, resulting in a wide and deep sound field.

Traditional and simplified Chinese removable subtitles are provided in addition to English; the English titles are large and white with black backing. A number of grammar and translation errors are noticeable.

The disk is divided into 8 chapters. The menu is offered in Chinese only and so is a bit challenging for non-Chinese readers to navigate.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. My opinion of this film might be different if I had seen any of the previous Wong Jing-produced "gambler" and "conman" series, but I thoroughly enjoyed the proceedings and recommend it for a pleasant diversion.

 

---

corrections? broken links? criticism? praise? please e-mail webmaster

this site is a non-commercial resource for region 1
original content copyright 2001 peter a. martin all rights reserved