Hey folks, Harry here... I love Tsui Hark's film work (except when he works with Van Damme). However, he does tend to be a style and action over substance director... who I often times wish would just hook up with a great script that would afford him the between bullet moments... between clashing blades moments... because his action is STUNNING. He's got that down pat... it's the rest of the meal that's lacking. Here's Rolo with his look at Tsui's latest.
Hi Harry,
RoloTomasi here with my first story. I caught Tsui Hark's new Guns N' Ammo entry, Time and Tide tonight at the Toronto Film Festival's Midnight madness program. I think it's screening again on Sunday. It's a pretty wild ride, but audiences should be warned to forget about storytelling, as the movie shifts from sub-plot to sublot to subplot. Here's a synopsis: Tyler, a young HK Bartender knocks up a pretty lesbian policewoman, and after being rejected by her and beaten up by her ex-girlfriend, He decides it's time to make some money and get out of Hong Kong. He joins a bodyguard service, and after foiling an assasination attempt on his client, he befriends Jack, the client's son-in-law (Jack and Tyler...hmmm, FIGHT CLUB anyone?). Unfortunately, Jack is part of an elite international fighting force (Aren't they always) that's behind the attempt on Tyler's client,and being in love with his daughter, can't go through with the Hit (REPLACEMENT KILLERS, anyone?) More bodies pile up, some cash disappears, and Tyler becomes guilty by association with the mysterious and dangerous Jack.
It's hard to interpret this stuff when it's flying at you mile-a-second, and there's constant cool stuff showering the screen. Some Highlights - A heist ambush in a hailstorm, a tension packed search for an assassin in a giant ballroom, A battle in a Hong Kong Tenement which becomes an explosive bullet ridden jungle gym for about 15 minutes, some spectacular feats of obstetrics (look it up), and a few more scenes I'll let you enjoy for yourselves. Tsui always finds new ways to show you something, sometimes it's cheesily fake, and sometimes it's too real. Homages everywhere to DIE HARD, THE GODFATHER, THE KILLER (Serious Dove alert) and I'm sure I'm missing a few.
Cheers to Colin Geddes for bringing HK Action to the festival, but jeers to Tsui Hark for not showing up and sending the overlong video introduction, that looked like it was set up by the High school A/V club (First and last time, I hope). Worth seeing for Hark's kinetic visual style, but if you can make more sense of the storyline, be my guest.
Still getting away with it,
RoloTomasi
