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R E V I E W
Time and Tide
Columbia TriStar / 2001 / 113 minutes
Directed by Tsui Hark
Written by Tsui Hark and Hui KoanWith Nicolas Tse, Wu Bai, Anthony Wong, Candy Lo, Cathy Tsui
PLEASE NOTE: Incomplete review as of 8/10/01. Opinion subject to change upon further viewings. Only some of the DVD features are detailed below.
B A C K G R O U N D : director, in cinemas, recent and related films
Director Tsui Hark has been considered one of the foundation cornerstones of the modern Hong Kong film industry for nearly 20 years, both for his creativity and his willingness to reimagine genres.
This film opened in Hong Kong cinemas in late 2000. It also played in United States cinemas during the spring of 2001.
Tsui Hark's latest film, The Legend of Zu, recently opened in Hong Kong.
M O V I E : plot, performances, production, rating
Plot: Tyler spends a drunken night with Jo, a woman who turns out to be a lesbian cop. Nine months later he is still trying to be responsible by giving her money, but she wants nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, his job with an unlicensed bodyguard company (run by Uncle Ji, a former loan shark who only employs people who were unable to pay him back) becomes increasingly dangerous. Tyler crosses paths with Jack, supposedly a Taiwanese butcher but actually a killer employed by a South American gang. Jack has problems of his own; his wife Hui is pregnant and is trying to reconcile with her wealthy businessman father. At least I think that's the basic set-up; I'll have to watch it a couple more times to know for sure.
Performances: For such inexperienced actors, the four leads (Nicolas Tse as Tyler, Wu Bai as Jack, Candy Lo as Hui, and Cathy Tsui as Jo) do a fine job. Some people don't like the idea of casting musicians in movies, but I'd much rather see this bunch than their American equivalents. Anthony Wong is calm and restrained as Uncle Ji.
Production: Roller coaster rides are fun and exciting and thrill me to the bone. They also last about two minutes. Time and Tide is a two-hour roller coaster ride. At the end I was glad it was over, but felt little or no emotion for the characters. I applaud the vigorous attempt to try new and different things. Some of the stylistic touches were quite refreshing — I liked the editing by Marco Mak very much, and the music by Tommy Wai had a cool and cutting edge. It is wild, and I suspect that if I saw this for the first time a few years ago on a bootleg tape and didn't know who directed it, I would be ecstatic and jazzed up by the crazed energy. It may be that this is a film that plays better as a DVD — you can play it 10 or 15 minutes at a time, go do something else, maybe watch something else, and then come back for another few minutes. Watching the movie all the way through in a single sitting, however, left me feeling like I'd overdosed on pure sugar.
Rating: Category IIB. Much of the gunshot violence is stylized to the extreme. Although this mitigates the impact to some extent, it's still quite graphic in several scenes.
D V D : look, sound, subtitles, features
Look: The letterboxed (approximately 2.35:1) presentation is excellent. The black levels are deep, colors crisp and vibrant, and flesh tones appear natural.
Sound: I listened to the DD 5.1 Cantonese audio track, and it sounded excellent. The surrounds are utilized throughout and to good effect. In addition to Cantonese, English and Spanish are also spoken extensively.
Subtitles: The removable yellow English subtitles were easy to read and well timed. No obvious spelling or grammer mistakes were evident.
Features: Filmographies (just a listing of films) are provided for Tsui Hark and Nicolas Tse. A scene-specific audio commentary by Tsui Hark is a welcome bonus. I've listened to the first 30 minutes so far, and it is fascinating. Among other things, he notes that the film's original running time was 2 hours and 40 minutes, and explains how he adjusted his methods because the lead actors were so inexperienced.
R E C O M M E N D A T I O N : buy, rent, or pass?
Rent. Essential viewing, even if you end up hating it.
(Reviewed 8/10/01)
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