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Posts tagged movie

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“Gallants” 2010 - Derek Kwok and Clement Cheng

I’m a big fan of kung fu films. I was partly raised by Jackie Chan and Jet Li, really. 

So imagine my surprise — and joy — when I chanced upon this little unknown film that came out last year: Gallants. It stars none of the aforementioned martial arts superstars. What it does have, however, are old school Hong Kong stars who are barely recognisable now that they’re senior citizens. I didn’t even recognise Chen Kuan-Tai until the movie panned across “old photos” and I saw a photo of him in his younger years. 

It also stars a still crazy Teddy Robin, whose tiny frame belies his ability to dwarf everyone else on screen. 

Gallants isn’t your ordinary martial arts flick. I initially thought it would be all about a loser who learns kung fu and wins the girl, but it isn’t.

If anything, it’s a very charming movie with none of the usual Wong Fei Hung gloss. True, some of the action scenes are breathtaking, but it’s only a couple of minutes before our senior stars are completely out of breath. 

Nevertheless, the movie manages to embody the true spirit of kung fu, one that emphasises honour, bravery and loyalty above all. To hell with victory; defeating your inner demons is the greatest triumph of all.

*Possible spoiler* This is the only movie I’ve seen wherein the protagonists join a martial arts tournament but get disqualified. This is not your average Karate Kid. The fight is settled outside the ring; the winner lies on the floor laughing while the loser looms over him, not knowing what just happened. *End spoiler*

Gallants is a good film, although I doubt a lot of people will agree so. It doesn’t fall into any neat genre; it’s difficult to classify. 

What it does, though, is honour a well-loved genre, not by attempting to update or glorify it, but perhaps by recognising and embodying its spirit.

So Tonton Gutierrez says, “sabihin mo nang hindi ako lalake, sabihin mo nang hindi ako gentleman…” then:

*KAPOW!*

Dawn Zulueta staggers back, face bleeding.

I love this movie. 

“Bakit Iisa Lamang ang Puso” (Eddie Rodriguez, 1989)

LOVEHKFILM.COM had this survey for the top 50 films of Hong Kong recently (thanks for the heads up, maopanalo), and I thought I’d make a brief list of my own choices. I don’t think I can manage fifty, though. Let’s settle for five, shall we?

I’ll list mine and you guys share yours.

My Top 5 Hong Kong Films of the Decade

1. Exiled (Fang Ju, 2006). Because it took the hackneyed triad genre and made it a masterpiece.
2. SPL (Sha Po Lang, 2005). This is what an action movie should be.
3. Needing You (Gu Nan Gua Nu, 2000).  Game changer for romantic comedies in Hong Kong. Plus, massive plus points for its parody of Andy Lau’s character in “Moment of Romance” (Tian Ruo You Qing, 1990).
4. Shaolin Soccer (Shao Lin Zu Qiu, 2001).
5. Fighter’s Blues (A Hu, 2000). Andy Lau’s best film EVER.

Interestingly, I did not find any Wong Kar Wai movie worth including, mainly because his best work (in my opinion) was 1994’s “Chungking Express”.  Wondered whether I should include either “Infernal Affairs” or “Jiang Hu”, but when you think about it, they were super cool and the actors were awesome but neither made as much impact on me as the five films I’ve listed.

I did notice that my choices were very pedestrian; none of the high-brow stuff like movies from less commercial directors (read: not Wong Jing) or something unfathomable like “Beijing Rocks”. I think my picks are based mostly on which movies resonated with me (like “Exiled”), so there’s really no apologizing for that.  These are the movies I force friends to watch whenever I get the chance to gush.

List yours?

Okay, okay, I know this will sound like I’m slagging off on Kim Chiu again, and then perhaps some people will think, godfreakingdammit what is it with you and Kim Chiu? But please, believe me when I say this brings me no joy.

Every time I come across that trailer for her latest film, there’s no escaping that scene where she screams “syinota mo ang best friend mo!” Whenever I see that, I can’t help but think that the scriptwriters have no idea what they’re talking about.

Who in their right mind — after having a rough patch with best friend-turned-boyfriend — would scream something like that?

She could’ve ranted and raved about his imperfections, the fact that he was making her the rebound girl, or that they’d come upon an impasse where neither friendship nor a romantic relationship is possible anymore.

But to say something like “syinota mo ang best friend mo”, what the hell is that trying to accomplish?

There are one liners so simple yet they stick to your head, like “sana ako na lang uli” and “mahal na nga kita, eh, maging sino ka man”, but this is not one of them.

I’m sure the scriptwriters were aiming for a soundbite, but mostly we end up with a nonsensical statement that alienates the character from the viewers.

And now I’ve exhausted my emotional-investment-in-a-movie-trailer energy for the day.