R E V I E W :    Jiang Hu - "The Triad Zone"  

Reviewed 12/20/00 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Mei Ah / 2000 / 107 minutes
Directed by Dante Lam Chiu Yin
Written by Chan Hing-kar and Amy Chin Siu-Wai

Dante Lam Chiu Yin has worked with director/producer Gordon Chan Ka-Seung for some years. He was first credited as an assistant director on 1995's Thunderbolt. The first film he directed was 1997's Option Zero (produced by Chan). Next up was 1998's Beast Cops (co-directed with Chan), and then 1999's romance When I Look Upon the Stars (produced by Chan).

The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong in September 2000. It is the latest from production company One Hundred Years of Film (in which Gordon Chan Ka-Seung is a principal). The first three were the highly successful Needing You . . ., Okinawa Rendez-vous, and Help!!!.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Initially, the film appears to be The Mission told from the point of view of the triad boss (Tony Leung Ka-fai) whose life has been threatened -- who wants to kill him and why? The film then spins off in a different direction as it examines those closest to him (through voice-over narration by the boss and judicious use of flashbacks): his wife (Sandra Ng Kwun-yue), his bodyguard (Roy Cheung Yiu-yeung), his counselor (Chan Fai-hung), and his mistress (Lee San-San), as well as a police inspector trainee (Eason Chan Yik Shun) and a young Triad wanna-be boss (Pang King-Chi).

As the film progresses, director Lam uses his stylistic bag of tricks (slow motion, freeze frames, extreme close-ups) more sparingly and more effectively. Tommy Wai Kai-Leung's musical score -- by turns chirpy, somber, and haunting -- adorns rather than distracts. (Quite a complement when you consider that the composer is credited with no less than thirteen scores this year). The performances are of uniform good quality. The script by veteran writer Chan Hing-Kar (A Better Tomorrow as well as First Option, Task Force, Option Zero, Hitman, Beast Cops, Okinawa Rendez-vous) and Amy Chin Siu-Wai (her first credit as a writer) features well-written dialogue but at least one plot twist so bizarre that it broke the mood of the film for me. Scenes played for laughs provide a welcome change of pace and are integrated well into the plot. As the credits roll, the aftertaste is exceedingly pleasant. This is an intelligent effort, well-made if falling short of the top tier.

The film is rated Category IIB. At least two sequences are explicit in their depiction of blood and gore, one involving guns and the other knives.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

A surprisingly fine job by Mei Ah, a company which has not distinguished itself in past DVD presentations. The fleshtones are natural, the blacks are quite deep, and the colors look accurate. There are just a few imperfections in the source print.

Both Dolby 2.0 and 5.1 Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks are provided. I listened to the Cantonese 5.1 track and it sounded excellent. Traditional and simplified Chinese removable subtitles are provided in addition to English; the English titles are large, white, easy to read, well-timed with few mistakes.

The disk is divided into 9 chapters with no time coding. The "data bank" contains a cast and crew listing and the synopsis from the back of the disk. The "best buy" consists of trailers for A War Named Desire (intriguing) and, disorienting as it may be, the American film U-571 (in English with Chinese subtitles).

Buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. An intriguing and different triad movie, Jiang Hu "The Triad Zone" definitely merits at least one look, and may well be worth a purchase and multiple viewings.

 

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