R E V I E W :   Victim  

Reviewed 7/11/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Mei Ah / 1999 / 103 minutes
Directed by Ringo Lam Ling-Tung
Written by Ringo Lam Ling-Tung, Joe Ma, Ho Man Lung

With Lau Ching Wan, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Amy Kwok Hoi Ming

 

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Plot: In the bloody and gruesome opening scene, a parking lot security guard is run over by a van with three men inside it. Police detective Pit and his partner Bee quickly identify a suspect, Manson Ma. His girlfriend Amy explains that they have been under financial pressure since Manson lost his job six months previously. It appears that Manson has been kidnapped, and his kidnappers say that he can be found at a location where a terrible murder took place in the past. Strange and baffling events continue to occur.

Performances: Any trace of charm and likability displayed by Lau Ching Wan in his career disappears completely in his characterization of the clearly disturbed Manson Ma. Tony Leung Ka-Fai brings the right note of slightly unhinged righteous indignation to the part of investigator Pit. Amy Kwok Hoi Ming brings a strain of dignity to the underwritten role of the increasingly desperate girlfriend, also named Amy.

Production: Ringo Lam Ling-Tung's pacing as a director can be mystifying. Some sequences are slow and methodical, while others race by at the speed of a heartbeat. As I watched the film, I was alternately frustrated and entranced. With the accumulation of scenes I became more forgiving of certain strange turns in the plot and swallowed up by the atmosphere. It was painful to view at times, and I was glad when it was over, but the lingering after-effects are definitely the work of a crafty filmmaker. Lam was aided and abetted by the weird colors and lighting via cinematography of Ross Clarkson and the properly haunting music of Raymond Wong Ying-Wah.

Rating: Category IIB. Multiple grisly and bloody scenes of nasty violence; one vomiting scene.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Look: The letterboxed (approximately 1.66:1) presentation was good. The black levels were deep, and the color separation was good. The flesh tones looked a bit off, tending toward a green hue, though that may have been intentional on the part of the filmmakers.

Sound: I listened to the DD 5.1 Cantonese version, which sounded fine. The sound field was a bit expansive but the surrounds are engaged only on a minimal basis. Also included are Mandarin tracks in both DD 2.0 and 5.1, and a Cantonese 2.0 version.

Subtitles: The white removable English subtitles are well timed and fairly easy to read, with occasional awkward translations noticeable. Other subtitles provided are traditional and simplified Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai.

Features: Nine chapters can be selected from a still-frame menu. The "data bank" consists of a brief synopsis and cast and crew listing. The original theatrical trailer is included, as is a trailer for Bullets Over Summer.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. Difficult to categorize; at times mesmerizing and at times just a mess. Not a masterpiece, but definitely not one to miss.

 

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