R E V I E W :    A War Named Desire  

Reviewed 1/3/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Mei Ah / 2000 / 89 minutes
Directed by Alan Mak
Written by Joe Ma, Alan Mak, Clement Cheng

Alan Mak's previous credits as a director (Nude Fear and Rave Fever) would not seem to create much anticipation for his latest effort. The presence of writer (Big Bullet, Black Mask), producer(Bullets Over Summer) and director (Feel 100%) Joe Ma might spark a little more interest. Francis Ng as a gangster might seem routine, but Gigi Leung as a gun-toting associate?

The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong in August 2000. As producer, Joe Ma was made the well-received Juliet in Love, the weak Love Paradox, and the surprising Clean My Name, Mr. Coroner!. His next effort as producer/director will be Feel 200%.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Films that are structured as extended flashbacks, as is A War Named Desire (and American Beauty and too many others to name), seem like cheats to me. Instead of allowing the viewer to decide how to respond to events as they develop, the ending is telegraphed and the audience is expected to follow meekly along the clearly-marked path pre-ordained by the writer(s) and director.

The opening scene tells us that Francis Ng and Daniel Chan will end up driving away bloody and battered, perhaps near death, in a pickup truck with a smashed windshield. As the flashback begins, we learn that Chan has traveled to Thailand in search of his long-lost and dishonored brother. His uninvited companion is his girlfriend (Pace Wu). Soon enough, Chan knows that his brother is running a casino and does not seek to reunite with him for love and brotherhood: he wants money and nothing more. Quickly, however, Chan is snared in a local gang power struggle and is in over his head. Will his brother come to his rescue? And what is Gigi Leung doing, playing a gun-toting criminal associate of Ng?

Much of the film moves along rudimentary plot lines. It's the visual inventiveness of director Mak, the precise but not overly busy editing by Cheung Ka-Fai (Police Story III: Supercop, Big Bullet, Task Force, and a total of eight (!) films in 2000), and the excellent musical score by veteran composer Mark Lui Chung Tak (Fong Sai Yuk, Green Snake, Crime Story) that are magnetic and pull the viewer along until the final third. This last section of the film improbably becomes quite moving due largely to the performances of Ng and Leung (not their reading of the pedestrian dialogue, but the emotions conveyed in their faces and body language), as well as the excellent staging of an extended showdown between the two gang factions.

The film is rated Category IIB with quite a lot of explicit gunshot violence and blood spattering depicted.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Good transfer with natural fleshtones. The colors are not particularly bright, however, nor are the blacks deep or rich. The source print reveals just a few imperfections.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is good, with clearly defined stereo separation and good use of the surround channels. Audio tracks are provided in DD 5.1 and 2.0 in both Cantonese and Mandarin. The removable white subtitles are large with few mistakes, but the lack of any kind of backing, together with the aspect ratio (1.85 to 1) make them sometimes difficult to read. Subtitles are provided in traditional and simplified Chinese and English.

The disk is divided into 9 chapters. Additional features are limited: just the trailers for Love Paradox and Help!!!, and a "data bank" for a brief synopsis and cast and crew listing.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Buy. Ultimately an absorbing and moving drama, featuring fine performances by Francis Ng and Gigi Leung, along with striking visuals, editing, and musical score in the final third of the film that make up for a slow, rather routine start.

 

---

corrections? broken links? criticism? praise? please e-mail webmaster

this site is a non-commercial resource for region 1
original content copyright 2001 peter a. martin all rights reserved