Hey folks, Harry here... Ok, officially, I'm really jazzed to see RUNNING ON KARMA now. I'm fascinated by the muscle out fit, as it seems to be the answer to alot of my problems. And two, this is the exact sort of add genre twister I like from Hong Kong! Here's Marshy...
Hey Harry,
Saw your post of Andy Lau in his "Big Guy" suit so thought IÃd fill you in a little bit. Running on Karma came out in Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago and it sounded so bizarre that I had to check it out.
The story goes like this ñ Andy Lau is a buffed-up-to-shit Buddhist monk who recanted his faith years ago and has since been on a wild and debauched rampage of women, booze and cigarettes through southern China. He gets busted in part of a police raid on a Hong Kong strip club where he meets aspiring detective Cecilia Cheung and, whilst trying to evade arrest, has a quite literal run-in with a supernatural Indian murder suspect.
Andy Lau or "Big" ñ as he is called ñ has the ability to see peopleÃs Karma (what they were in their past lives) when he touches you. He gets an insight into the murdererÃs origins and motives and decides to help the police track him down. His many years of martial arts training as a monk soon come in handy as he tracks the movements of the killer, with Chung in tow. However, when he discovers something disturbing about ChangeÃs past life he is unsure how to react.
Like I said, this is a crazy movie - at once a comedy, police thriller and supernatural horror film full of philosophical musings and Buddhist rhetoric. However, for the most part it is successful. The ever-watchable Andy Lau is great as the confused monk who literally knows too much about everybody he meets ñ plagued by the memories of a murdered loved one he failed to protect. The "Big" suit is actually pretty convincing, and when itÃs not, it is still such a daring costume that you forgive those little creases in the latex.
Cecilia Cheung is not exactly HKÃs leading light but she holds her own well and I must admit that you do care about her character ñ and the plot twists involving her here are nothing short of devastating.
The mighty directorial partnership of Johnnie To and Wa Ka Fai do a pretty satisfying job of keeping things together, ensuring that the film is scary and funny when it is supposed to be. They do a much better job of this than they did with PTU, blending and balancing the genres with skill. Unfortunately the final act does buckle slightly under the weight of its own profundity as the story goes deep into Buddhism and reincarnation, losing the plot and some of itÃs characters along the way. But by the time the credits roll, you do still have a pretty good idea of what happened ñ and everything that went before was so unique that you will not forget this movie in a hurry.
This film will never ever ever get released anywhere outside Asia, so DVD is really your only opportunity to check this film out, but give it a go ñ it is a rare treat to see something so original, off-beat and fun ñ and of course, thereÃs that suit.
All the best,
Marshy
